Seduction
by marinapanic
Summary: Tom Riddle opened the chamber of secrets, created Horcruxes, and became the most feared wizard of all time. Why? What happened? Emma Ashwood. Tom could charm anyone he wished, but only one girl was able to charm him. Dark. Tom Riddle/OC: Set in years 5-7.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own any Harry Potter characters! **

**A/N: This will be the only note I make before a chapter. So basically, this story tells of _how_ Tom Riddle got some ideas in his head, and how he became the wizard he is today. Have you ever heard of the theme of where the woman is the corrupter, because she is most easily influenced by bad things? This story highlights that, I guess. The first couple chapters will be in their first and second years, and maybe one from the fifth, and the rest of the story will be in the 6th and 7th years, when most of the action will happen. It's only rated for strong language and some really bad themes and stuff. Stuff that kids _shouldn't_ be reading about. As for updates, I will try and update it as much as I can, but I want to make nice long chapters, so we'll see! **

**Enjoy! :)  
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Chapter 1: **September 1st, 1938**

"Now darling... you know how important it is that you get into Slytherin... right? We don't want you associating with anybody other than purebloods. That could be devastating to your reputation."

11-year-old Emma Ashwood looked around carefully, to make sure there weren't people within earshot. Although she shared her parents' beliefs, she did not want to be labelled as discriminatory. "Of course, mum." She replied, "I'll be sorted into Slytherin. Don't worry."

"Sometimes I think you're too nice for your own good." Her dad mused, "Too thoughtful and courageous. But you wouldn't want to be in _Gryffindor_, would you?"

_That's what they think_. Becky thought, rolling her eyes. Even at a young age the little girl was cunning manipulative. The train rolled into the station, and she looked back at her parents, ignoring their last question.

"We're leaving." Her mum said pointedly, tears brimming her eyes. This would be the first time the Ashwood family was separated since Becky was born. "Bye, sweetie. Be safe!" She pulled her daughter into a hug, and Emma put on her best smile.

"I'll be fine." She said, "Love you guys." She moved on to hug her dad, and watched them walk back through the barrier. She turned around to look at the bright and shiny train engine, before grabbing her trunk and getting on. She walked slowly through the aisles, finding a compartment that was empty and settling down. She thought it was best to not make new friends until everyone was sorted; that way when they were put into Hufflepuff or Ravenclaw, she wouldn't feel any sense of loss.

About halfway throughout the train ride, in which Emma was reading _Hogwarts; A History_, the door to her compartment slid open, and a boy edged his way in, taking a seat across from her without a word.

"Who are you?" She asked curiously, but as he looked up, an eyebrow raised an a hostile look in his eyes, she realized that she was being rather rude. "Sorry..."

"It's alright." He said stiffly, "I'm Tom. Tom Riddle. Who are you?"

"Emma Ashwood." She replied, leaning in to take his hand. She also used this moment to assess his appearance. For a boy his age, he was alright looking. He had dark hair and eyes, and a cynical smile that many people would take to be charming. Emma knew right away that it was sarcastic though; she had the same one. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Tom."

"Likewise." The boy replied, settling back into his seat. He put his hands behind his head as though he was relaxing, and asked, "So did you know about all this? You know... before you got your letter?"

Emma stared at him. _Is he a mudblood?_ She asked herself, but didn't ask him out loud. "Oh, you're not born of wizarding parents?"

"I think one of them is." He replied, and Emma closed her eyes. He wouldn't be in Slytherin then. Her parents had told her that only wizards of pureblood status would be sorted there.

"Are you excited to learn more about it?" She asked reluctantly, deciding that maybe conversation with this boy wouldn't be _so_ bad.

"I already know how to control my powers... to an extent." He said, "But Dumbledore said that I can't use them like that there."

_Now_, Emma was intrigued. "How were you using them, if you don't mind me asking?"

"To 'bully' and control animals. To scare kids."

"To scare Muggles?" Emma grinned now. This kid was right up her alley.

"Yeah," He said, "And I could talk to snakes. Is that normal?"

"I don't know, Tom." Emma smirked, "But I'm sure you'll learn all about it at Hogwarts."

"I plan on looking for my parents." Tom said, "Figure out who my father was. Have you ever heard of the _Riddle_ family before?"

"No," Emma answered, "I haven't."

"And your family is?"

"The Ashwoods. We're a long line of purebloods... but I'm the last so far, my parents didn't have a son, much to their displeasure."

"Hmm." Tom stayed quiet for a bit after that, which allowed Emma to get back to reading her book.

What felt like hours later, Tom was looking out the window. "Do you reckon we'll be there soon?" He wondered curiously. Emma shrugged.

"We better start changing into our school robes, anyways." She said, "That way we won't look like Muggles when we get there."

"Good idea." Tom agreed, and he opted to go out to the washrooms to change. Emma quickly changed out of her blouse and long skirt, and into the uniform that she picked up from Diagon Alley. Tom came back in a few minutes later.

He sat down, and she continued reading her book, not looking up. After a few moments, she looked up to see him staring at her. "What are you looking at?" She asked rudely, not bothering to be polite, and he immediately went red.

"I'm just admiring your beauty." He said sarcastically, and Emma was shocked by his confidence. She flashed him a toothy smile.

"I think we'll get along perfectly fine." She said slowly. The train began to stop, and both preteens got up quickly.

"Do we take our trunks?" Tom asked quickly, and Emma shook her head.

"No, they take them for us." She replied. He followed her off of the train and immediately were beckoned by a scrawny man.

"First Years! Come this way please, first years!"

"Where is he taking us?" Tom asked, alarmed, and Emma chuckled. He was so clueless it was almost cute.

"We're going on the boats to get to the castle... across the lake. It's a way that only the first years take, I guess... for dramatic effect." She said confidently; so much so that Tom had to wonder if it was real. They followed the man down to the dock area where the boats were stored, and the two of them got on.

"It's so nice out here." Tom observed, "Peaceful. I think I like it." They were the only two on the boat, and it was almost as though it was the only thing that existed. The lake made no sound as they glided gently through it by magic, and Emma just nodded, closing her eyes and relaxing. She'd always valued her "alone time," and luckily for her, being with Riddle almost felt like they were both by themselves.

Finally, the boat came to the shore, and the two of them followed the rest of the first years into the castle, where they were led into a little room, and told to wait. Emma barely marvelled at the castle's greatness; her house wasn't as extravagant, but it was almost as big and beautiful as the entrance hall had been. She noticed that Riddle seemed impressed by the castle, although he barely showed it.

"What house do you think you'll be in?" One boy asked the two of them. He was shorter than Tom was, with black hair and blue eyes. He was addressing Tom, but leering at Emma like a piece of meat.

She pushed a strand of blonde hair over her shoulder and replied, "Slytherin. Is there another possible house to be in?"

"Glad you're on the same page, Ashwood." He replied, and at the use of her name, Emma recognized him immediately. Ramekin Lestrange. Their parents had been friends for ages, but she hadn't seen any of the children in a while.

Tom stayed quiet, not answering the question. A couple seconds later, a man with a long beard and piercing blue eyes came into the room. "First years, come this way. It's time to be sorted. When I lead you into that hall, you'll gather around a stool. A hat will be placed on your head, and you will be sorted into one of four houses. Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, or Slytherin. Follow me, please."

The students all followed this teacher into the hall, and Emma was surprised to see that he gave Tom a small smile, which wasn't returned. "Do you know him?" She whispered as they walked in, the eyes of all the returning students upon them.

"Yeah." Tom answered bitterly, "That's Albus Dumbledore." He said, rolling his eyes as he looked up at the ceiling. Tonight, the sky was grey.

"I know who he is." Emma said quickly, "I've met him a few times. How do you know him?"

"He came to visit me at the orphanage... to tell me I was a wizard." Tom replied, an odd look on his face. Emma frowned. She wished that he could be in Slytherin, so that she might be able to carry on this conversation later. They were forced to stop talking as they came to the end of the walk, into a group that was surrounding a stool with a raggy old hat on it. Emma stared in amazement as it opened it's mouth and began to sing a song.

_Oh once upon a time, when I was just anew, the founders had made me, to sort all of you. When they were all gone, and couldn't do it themselves, they needed my judgement, and I do it very well. Gryffindor was strong and brave, his courage and his heart..._

Emma stopped paying attention after a while, and the song was longer than she expected. She looked over at Tom, who's eyes lit up when the hat mentioned Slytherin, and rolled her own. He wouldn't be in that house, it was impossible.

"Now, when I call out your name, you will come and sit on a stool, and be sorted. Then, kindly join your houses for our feast." Dumbledore called out, and Emma knew she would be first. "Ashwood, Emma." She walked up to the stool and sat down.

"Ashwood, eh? Couple of Slytherins, that lot is." The deep voice said into her head, and Emma smirked inwardly. "You, my dear, aren't suited for anywhere else." _I _know_ I'm not_. Emma thought at it, and it sighed before yelling out "SLYTHERIN!" She smiled a rare, wide smile and walked briskly to the Slytherin table, where she was patted on the back my many upper-classmen.

Emma paid no attention to most of the other students, but her head snapped up when she heard a familiar name. Lestrange was set in Slytherin as well as three more students, and there were many Hufflepuffs in her year, much to her dismay. Finally, the name "Riddle, Tom" was called and she saw her newly found "friend" walk up to the stool.

The hat was barely on his head when it called out, "SLYTHERIN!"

Emma was in shock. _What?_ She had never, ever heard of a case where a half blood was sorted into Slytherin. _Ever_. Tom came to the table and sat down beside her, with a blank look on his face. Like this wasn't even affecting him.

"I thought you said one of your parents was a Muggle!" She whispered harshly into his ear. He shrugged.

"Yeah, one of them is. Why?" He asked, looking slightly offended at her choice to question his sorting.

"It's no offense to you, Riddle." Emma said slowly and precariously, planning her words carefully, "It's just that Slytherin is known for only taking students with pureblood status. Not halfbloods or mudbloods."

"Mudbloods?"

"It's a name used for muggleborns. It's slightly offensive... but you get the point."

"So... me being in Slytherin is... odd then?"

"Very." Emma confirmed, looking up at the Head Table. The head of Slytherin house, Horace Slughorn, was looking in their direction, mild interest on his face.

"Who's that?" Tom asked, pointing up at the man, "And why is he staring at me?"

"That's Horace Slughorn. He's the Head of our house." Emma replied in a murmur, "My parents warned me that he would try and collect me. Because they were some of his favourites, and because I'm smart or something." She was failing at her attempt to be modest, so she changed the subject quickly. "I bet you that he'll try and collect you." She said, "Because you're special or something, and probably very smart."

"Could be useful." Tom said after a few minutes of silence, long after Horace Slughorn had looked away. But there was one person who was still staring at the two of them, much to her displeasure and discomfort.

**A/N: This is my first attempt at a Tom Riddle/OC story! I don't care if you like it or not. If you do, then let me know! If you don't then just leave without another word. I will probably make their sixth and seventh year all one story, instead of doing a sequel and stuff. If I do a sequel it would include the years _after_ Hogwarts... if you know what I mean. Thanks for reading!:)**


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I do not own any Harry Potter characters! **

**September 2nd, 1938**

"So? Why do you think I was sorted into Slytherin?" Tom asked Emma impatiently. It was their second day, and they were _already_ sitting in the library, pouring over books.

"Are you sure you don't know who your family is?"

"My father's last name was Riddle... I think he was the magic one, because if my mum was magic, she wouldn't have died."

"You make a good point." Emma said, before muttering under her breath, "Muggles are completely useless."

"That's my mum you're talking about, Ashwood."

"Calm your hormones, Riddle." Emma cast him a dark look, "I mean Muggles as a whole." She said, "I'm sure your mum was a lovely woman."

"You don't like Muggles?" Tom asked curiously, and Emma shook her head.

"My family has taught me to hate them... so I do. And even if they hadn't, I probably would. They're oblivious. They're inferior. Why, are you a Muggle-lover?"

"I've grown up with them." Tom said slowly, "I don't hate them, but they're not my favourite people."

Emma smiled at him, "Trust me, Tom. After you've been around our lot for a couple of months, you'll be right turned off by your home."

Somehow, Tom knew to believe her.

The pair of them spent a couple weeks pouring over books, when finally Tom had to admit that a _Tom Riddle_ had never been in the castle. He looked in the trophy room, looked everywhere for just a mention of his name, and was incredibly disappointed to find nothing. Had his mother been weak and died?

"What's your middle name again?" Emma asked after they'd been at school for a full month, "Maybe we can pull something from that."

"Marvolo." Riddle replied after a few minutes, "After my mother's father."

"Do you want to ask any teachers if they knew of a Marvolo who went here?" Emma asked breathlessly, setting the book back down on the table. Tom shrugged.

"Maybe we could ask that Slughorn guy." He responded, and Emma nodded.

"We can't ask Dumbledore. He's too... meddling. He's pried his way into my family's affairs way too many times before."

"Such as?"

"My parents... actually...my entire family, are under the impression that purebloods are the only type of wizards who have business being at Hogwarts. They believe that they're the only _real_ wizards. If you know what I mean." Emma said breathlessly, "And many of them have been involved in some sort of _dark_ magic, having been in Slytherin house and following his ideals."

"What are his ideals?" Tom asked, as if in a trance. This sounded powerful to him. It sounded like something bigger than anyone here, and he wanted in on it.

"That pureblood wizards were the only ones who should receive a magical education. That those with Muggle parents are just as bad as them." She said quietly, so that no one would hear. "There was never any real detail as to what Slytherin did, or even if he acted upon his beliefs, but people who absolutely worship them—you could call them "extremists," used dark magic to try and kill off Mudbloods and cause suffering to the Muggles that do enter their lives." She said, "My family was one of those families. The extremists. We created so much in the way of _dark_ magic that Dumbledore wouldn't leave us alone after a while. It was infuriating. It's the sole reason why I can't stand that man. He had so many investigations done—because he doesn't like our belief system."

When she finished her rant, Tom was very silent for many minutes. "So it's a struggle for power."

"Basically." She said, "And I want that power. All of it."

Tom looked as though he wanted the power as well—a greedy look flashed in his eyes. He looked at Emma for a minute. She was of a slender build, with long pale blonde hair, grey blue, stormy eyes, and very creamy white skin. She walked with her head held high and her nose slightly in the air, with a swagger to her step. She was confident, and she was ambitious, and she was pretty, and he decided that maybe being her friend wouldn't be such a bad thing after all.

"I think..." Tom said, after realizing that his staring probably wouldn't win him any points, "That we should find out about my family." He said, "Something makes me feel like they're significant, whoever they are."

"We have potions with Slughorn this afternoon—how about we go catch the end of lunch, and then get to class early so we can talk to him?" Emma suggested, and Tom nodded, knowing that when the time came, he would ask her to stay outside. He wanted to do this on his own. It was bad enough that they had to ask Slughorn to begin with.

They started to walk down to the Great Hall, when they were stopped by Lestrange and two boys that Tom didn't recognize.

"Ashwood. Nice to see you again." One of them said, smiling nicely at her. She smiled back, showing her straight white teeth.

"Malfoy!" She grinned. He had blond hair that was whiter than hers, and eyes that were just a little bluer. He was taller than both Emma and Tom, and when he went to hug her, it was obvious that they were a little more than friendly—however that may be for an eleven year old.

"And who is your new friend, Em?" The other boy asked, and Emma smiled, gesturing at Tom.

"Boys, this is Tom Riddle. Tom, this is Abraxas Malfoy, he's in third year... a Slytherin, of course, _this_ is Robert Avery. He's in our year."

The boys all exchanged pleasantries, and Emma seemed to be happy that they could all get along. "We're headed down to the Great Hall." She said after they talked for a few minutes about their class schedules. Unnecessary small talk. "Would you boys like to join us?"

"We'd love to, little lady, but Avery and I are meeting Mulciber and Lestrange for a game of Quidditch out on the lawn. Would you two like to join us?" Malfoy asked teasingly, and Emma smiled.

"No, and cutting class on the first day? Tisk tisk." She grinned and gave Malfoy another parting hug as he rolled his eyes before the two groups got on their respective ways.

Tom watched Emma closely as they walked. Her step had a bit of a spring to it, and she had an odd smile on her face. "So how do you know all those guys anyways?"

"We grew up together." She said with a small smile, "Malfoy and I were practically joined at the hip when we were younger... Mulciber... Lestrange, Avery... we've all known each other since we were in diapers. Our parents were all classmates."

"That Malfoy seems to worship the ground you walk on." Tom said, undertones of disgust evident in his tone. He couldn't imagine worshipping someone. Ever. Especially not a girl, no matter who she was. He was shocked though, that Emma blushed at his words, but didn't say anything. They walked silently into the Great Hall, and sat down at the Slytherin table.

"Ahh, Miss Ashwood, Mister Riddle, just the pair of students I was looking for." A soft voice spoke from behind them, and out of the corner of his eye, Tom saw Emma flinch. They both turned around to see none other than Albus Dumbledore, standing behind them.

"Good afternoon, Professor." Emma said with a sickly sweet tone that made Tom want to retch. He looked over at her, an eyebrow raised, but she didn't even acknowledge his glance, staring their teacher dead on in the eye the entire time.

"How are you two enjoying your first day, so far?"

"Quite a lot, actually, sir," Emma said, and suddenly her face fell, "But Tom and I were getting acquainted in the library, and we missed most of lunch, so we were hoping to be able to eat before all the food disappears."

"Oh, yes, of course." Dumbledore said quickly, standing up from his crouching position, and turned to leave, but whipped around rather quickly, "And Mister Riddle, how are you enjoying the castle so far?"

Tom gave a grim smile, "I'm enjoying it, sir. Thank you." He said, and turned away, which clearly indicated that their conversation was over. As Dumbledore walked away, he turned back to Emma.

"How did you do that?" He asked quietly. She shrugged.

"I'm pretty natural at hiding my dislike of someone, Tom. Something that is useful." She said. He had to agree... he'd always been very good at manipulating people and two facing his "friends" and acquaintances. He just hadn't expected his new 'friend' to be the same way.

As Dumbledore walked away, he couldn't help but be disturbed at the alliance between Tom and Emma. Their friendship had formed so quickly, and they were probably the two students he hoped _wouldn't_ get to know each other.

**A/N: This was a little shorter, sorry. I wanted to get some back story on the two characters sorted out, as well as an early look into their relationship. There will be one chapter more of year one, which will incorporate year two, and then the story will pick up in 5th year. I wrongly stated previously that the story will take place in 6 and 7, but it will span their final three. Thank you to all the people who subscribed to story alerts or reviewed! I appreciate all the positive feedback, and I hope that you will be eager to read more after this chapter is complete!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I do not own any Harry Potter characters!**

A/N: Just a short note, that this has a very large time skip, and the beginning just _kind of_ beings you up to speed! :) **  
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**September 1st, 1943**

_Four years had passed since those first couple days at school, and many things had changed, naturally. Tom found out very quickly after beginning Hogwarts that he was the Heir of Slytherin through his mum's side, and he also learned about the Chamber of Secrets. He and Emma are still friends, and they've been working together to try and open the Chamber, although they have yet to find a way. Tom had become much darker throughout the years, embracing his new culture to its fullest, and secretly having the wish to power over anybody and everybody. Now, beginning their fifth year, and after basically four years of academic and behavioural perfection, Tom and Emma are the Slytherin Prefects, and this is where our real story begins. _

Emma Ashwood raised an eyebrow as her mother ogled the boy that was standing in front of her. He was quite tall, with pale skin and black hair, and smouldering eyes. Just one look could bring any woman, grown or otherwise, down to her knees. Currently, his bright white, straight teethed smile was directed towards her.

"Hi, Em... have a nice summer?" He asked, his tone warm and friendly as a show for her parents. For Tom and Emma, the world was their stage, and they were the actors.

She returned his smile with one of her own, batting her eyelashes in a show to make her mum jealous. "Yes, I did, Tom thanks for asking." She said, and his smile turned into a smirk.

"These must be your lovely parents?"

"Oh, yes. Mum, dad, this is the boy I told you about!" Emma looked over at the older adults that were standing there awkwardly, "Tom, this is my mum and dad."

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Mister and Missus Ashwood."

Olivia Ashwood was staring at her daughter pointedly. "He's much better looking than Malfoy." She said quietly, but Riddle could still hear her, "Why hasn't he been around the house?"

"I live in an orphanage, Mrs. Ashwood." Tom spoke up quickly, giving Emma a long look. She hadn't mentioned spending time during the summer with Malfoy. "I am rarely allowed to leave, although given the chance, I would _love_ to visit the lovely Emma over the summer."

"Well, I'll be sure to arrange it." She giggled, looking at Emma with a wink, "And Thomas, dear, call me Olivia, please."

Nathan Ashwood stepped in quickly, "Well, you two best get on the train, it's about to leave." He gave his daughter a quick hug, "Be good, although, I don't think we need to tell you _that_ anymore." He smiled tightly at the two teens, and Emma kissed him on the cheek before following Tom onto the train.

They were the first two to get to the Prefect's compartment, and after Tom made sure the door was locked, he turned around and glared at Emma.

"Are you seeing that twit again?" He whispered harshly, and she shrugged.

"Yeah. I mean... I know it ruins our plan but I _really_ like him, Tom."

It was Abraxas Malfoy's seventh year, and he and Emma had been going on and off for about a year. "I don't care, Em." Tom said coldly, "You can't have everything you want, you know. Some sacrifices have to be made."

"I don't see what the big deal is."

"My uncle is _finally_ being released from Azkaban again." Tom said, closing his eyes so he wouldn't lose it. His uncle Morfin Gaunt, who he'd discovered three years ago, was sent to Azkaban on and off for various crimes, and this time he wanted to get to his hometown before the middle aged man had a chance to commit _another_ crime. "If we want to go see him, together, then I need to be at your place at some point."

"What does Malfoy have to do with that?"

"If your parents think you're dating Malfoy, why would they allow me to come over? They'd just think you were being unfaithful to him, and you know how into _tradition_ they are." Tom despised Muggles, but he wasn't a fan of pureblood traditions, either. They were incredibly old fashioned, just not his style.

"Did you see my mum's reaction to you?" Emma replied quickly, "She thinks you're Merlin's gift to the world. She'll let you over. We're still going to go." She then added softly, "I promise."

They glared at each other for a few more moments, before the door slid open. "Finally!" A girl's voice said, "We've been trying to get in here forever!"

Six other students walked in, and froze when they saw Tom and Emma sitting on the one bench together, staring at each other. It looked to them as though they were staring into each other's eyes.

"Uh excuse me..." One Gryffindor girl, Meredith Newsome, said in a loud voice, and the two snapped out of their reverie.

"What do you want, Newsome?" Emma snapped, turning away from her Slytherin Prefect counterpart. She glared at the mudblood, and the girl recoiled, but couldn't say anything, because a second later, Emma's face was rearranged into a sweet expression. "I'm sorry we were holding the meeting up. Tommy here just couldn't hold himself back." She smirked, patting him on the leg as he silently fumed. Nevertheless, he put a grim smile on his face, saying nothing.

The Head Girl came in two minutes later, and by that time everyone was settled down. "Basically," She said, "We are going to be splitting up duties. The Gryffindor Prefects will be doing Mondays and Wednesday nights, the Slytherins will be doing Tuesdays and Thursdays, the Hufflepuffs have Fridays and Saturdays, and the Ravenclaws will be sharing duties on Saturday, because there is an increased amount of troublemaking that night. Martin and I will patrol the halls every night before curfew, so you just need to be out by nine, when the older student's curfew begins."

Martin Newsome, who just happened to be the older brother of the Gryffindor Prefect that Emma had just intimidated, stood up. "As for the train ride, Ravenclaws, you take the first hour. Gryffindors have the second, Slytherins have the third, Hufflepuffs the fourth. Just keep your eyes out for any trouble." He said, "And also, _please_ do try and set a good example for the younger students. We have meetings every Friday night to collaborate."

The meeting ended shortly after these words, and Tom grabbed Emma's forearm, pulling her out into the corridor.

"I couldn't hold myself back?" He asked, raising an eyebrow. She gave him a closed mouth smile, which turned into a full grin when she couldn't contain her laughter.

"Calm down, Tom. I was _kidding_. Those Prefects know you're not like that, anyways. They know _we're_ not like that." She focussed her grey eyes directly on him, and gave him a real smile. "Now, I think we have some boys waiting for us."

He followed her down the hall, and she heard him distinctly say, "If anyone else was saying that, I'd hex them into oblivion..."

She grinned, and he eventually caught up to her. They walked side by side, looking for the other Slytherin boys' compartment. "Look, there they are." Emma peered through the blurred glass, and saw a head of blond hair.

She opened the compartment door, and saw five boys waiting for them to arrive. "Hey, darling." Abraxas smiled and patted the seat next to him. Emma sat down, and as he put his arm around her, Tom coughed loudly and smirked, clearly amused. He sat down between Avery and Lestrange.

"Good to see all of you again." Tom said awkwardly. Emma smiled on the inside, knowing what he actually thought about the guys in their "group." Disposable.

They all sat and chatted awkwardly, and as Tom told the group about his plans for the year, Emma could see that they were admiring him more and more. They'd decided a long time ago that apart from keeping a "perfect" act up, they needed people to do their dirty work while at school. These boys were perfect. Upon finding out about Tom's "Heir to Slytherin" status, they did just about everything he asked them to.

The boys were making small talk, and every now and then, Emma would glance over at Tom, to see him glaring at her and Malfoy, who she assumed he still didn't approve of. Abraxas was holding her hand in his, and was talking to Lestrange. Both of them were laughing loudly. Emma stayed quiet for most of the ride, lost in thought.

Tom finally got up. "Where are you going?" Avery asked, looking panicked. He seemed to be lost without Tom, which Emma almost laugh out loud at. _Pathetic_. She thought, rolling her eyes.

As if he read her mind, Riddle smirked, before replying, "Prefect duties. And I'm hoping my fellow Prefect doesn't blow me off on our first rounds, because that would be rather annoying." He looked pointedly at Emma, who grinned, standing up.

"I guess that's my cue to leave. Guess I'll see you all in an hour." She said this mostly to Malfoy, who kissed her on the cheek before she left.

"So what exactly do we do?" Emma asked Tom as soon as they shut the door behind them. The hall was annoyingly crowded with children, most of them who were small and who Emma would have stepped on, had Tom not pulled her out of the way.

"We don't step on little kids, that's for sure." Tom said with a small smile, and Emma rolled her eyes. "We also, make sure they're not clustering the hallways." He walked over to a small group of First Years, "Move along, now, we don't need you constipating our hallway." Emma started giggling uncontrollably, and Tom towered over her, a stony look in place on his face.

"How old are you, five?"

She giggled again. "You should choose your words better then, Thomas." She said, saying his name in a perfect imitation of her mother, only hours before. Tom ignored her, a trace of a smile on his face.

"You there!" She hollered after a couple minutes of walking, "No snogging in the corridors!"

"Why not?" The girl was in Slytherin, and the boy was in Ravenclaw. That was enough for Emma, but she shrugged it off and said,

"Because, Miss. Black, snogging in public is unsightly and no one wants to see your displays of affection."

The girl, whose first name Emma could never remember, scoffed and stalked off, her boyfriend trailing behind her.

"Good job, Em." Tom said quietly, "Looks like you won't wimp out like I thought you would." He teased. Emma raised an eyebrow.

"Four years, and you think I would wimp out of bullying small children? I guess you really don't know me, Tom." She laughed, and kept walking, so quickly that he couldn't catch up. They finished their hour, and returned to the compartment, but instead of sitting with her boyfriend, Emma elected to sit with Tom so that she could talk to him about their plans for the year.

"If we don't get it by Christmas," he said, "Then we'll have to give up. There are more important things than opening this Chamber."

"Like?" Emma asked, staring at him very closely. He'd grown very good looking over the years, but looking at him right now, she really noticed it. He looked tired—almost vulnerable. Like this task to open the Chamber was draining him.

Tom didn't want to tell her about his thirst to evade death; she meant a great deal to him, and he was sure she would find out eventually, but he didn't want to tell her yet, or get her involved.

"Don't worry about it, right now." He put his hand on her arm, a friendly gesture, but almost felt scorched by her hot skin. Wondering if she was sick, he added, "You'll know in due time."

Emma nodded. She and Tom were friends, but they certainly didn't divulge every detail about their lives to each other, and they definitely didn't pry into each other's lives. So she just had to believe that if he said she'd know, she'd know eventually.

**A/N: I wanted to mention last time that when I think of Abraxas Malfoy, I think of a slightly different Draco, but basically the same. Yum. Kay so sorry about the time skip, but I wanted to get into the real story, which commences now! Tom and Emma are obviously friends, but with secrets and a secret plan... what could happen? Thanks to all the reviewers! I appreciate it. **


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I do not own any Harry Potter characters!**

**Chapter Four.**

The last hour of the train ride went unnervingly fast for Emma, especially since she'd allowed herself to fall asleep on Tom's shoulder. She woke up, and he was looking down at her with a mixture of annoyance and amusement.

"Sorry Thomas." She smiled, and it was a grin that he very rarely saw on her. A true one, unlike the charming smiles she gave to their professors.

"You know, my name is just Tom, right?"

"Oh I know," Emma smiled cheekily up at him, "But I like Thomas. It makes you sound more..._mysterious_." She stood up, "Now, _Thomas_, we should make our rounds and make sure the transfer from train to carriage is smooth and sound, should we not?"

"That's a good idea." Tom replied in a smooth voice, although Emma could tell from the look in his eyes that he really, really didn't want to go babysit some prepubescent children. She went to walk off the train, but he stopped her. "Wait... Em, we should probably meet up tonight."

Although they were _friends_, it was hard for Tom and Emma to get any alone time, and they really needed it. They had some of their friends who could do the "dirty work" as they called it, which was so far, basically bullying some muggle born children, but they didn't want the guys to listen in when they were forming their plans.

"Sure, when and where?" Emma asked, grabbing her wand from her pocket, just in case. They exited the compartment, the last two, and noticed that there were only a few stragglers on the entire train left.

Tom leant in as they reached the exit, brushed her hair away from her ear, and whispered, "Common room... 3am?"

She closed her eyes for a moment and inhaled deeply, before turning to him and biting her lip. "Sounds perfect."

The two of them got off of the train and made their way to the platform where the carriages would leave from. "Hey, you two!" Emma called walking briskly over to three third years who appeared to be in a heated shouting match. Tom rolled his eyes and started moving towards the carriage he knew their group would be in—Emma could handle this bout of misbehaving children by herself.

"Hey, Riddle!" He turned to see Abraxas Malfoy standing right behind him. Very unsurprised, he formed his face into a politely confused look, and smiled as he addressed the older boy.

"Malfoy, how are you this lovely evening?"

"I think you know why I'm here, Riddle." Abraxas said coldly, staring into the younger boy's eyes accusingly, and Tom, unfortunately, had an inkling of an idea as to why he was indeed there.

"No, actually, I'm unaware." Tom smirked, "Enlighten me please, Malfoy."

"I want you to stay away from Emma." Malfoy said shortly, "She's mine, and you're not going to take her away from me."

Tom raised an eyebrow. "I wasn't aware that she belonged to you, but I can assure you that I have no intention of 'taking her away,' whatever that's supposed to mean."

"I've known Emma our entire lives, and suddenly, she meets you and she's not interested in hanging out with us anymore. She barely wants to spend any time with me, because she's more worried about whatever she's planning with you. You'd better watch yourself, Riddle, if you don't stay away from her."

Malfoy strode away after that, and Tom just stood there staring after him for a second, before regaining his cool and going into the carriage. Emma hopped in just before it had the chance to take off. "What happened to _you_?" She asked, "Ditching me like that."

Tom just smiled at her, and his look told her that he'd explain later. She seemed to accept this, and sat down next to Malfoy, absentmindedly taking his hand. The ride felt shorter than usual, and soon, Emma found herself walking into the school's beautiful Entrance Hall. Feeling as though they should stick together, she let go of Malfoy's hand and started to quicken her pace.

"Hey!" He said loudly, "Where are you going?"

"I'm sure that Tom and I should sit together to symbolize unity or something like that... see you later sweetie!" She called back, and she ran to catch up with the dark haired boy who strode along by himself.

"Oh hey, Emma." He said quickly, flashing her a quick smile, "Fancy seeing you here."

She just stared at him incredulously, and muttered what sounded distinctly like, "You are an odd, odd child, Thomas." They walked the rest of the way to the Great Hall together, and were the first two to sit down at the Slytherin table. Emma seemed to catch Slughorn's eye, and he winked at her discreetly—but it wasn't subtle enough to miss Tom's observant nature. His eyes lingered on Slughorn for a few more moments before he turned his attention to Emma.

"Did you notice that?" He asked in a low voice. She smiled coyly at him, brushing her hand against his arm, and Tom knew that Slughorn was still watching.

"Notice what, Thomas?" She asked in a low, dangerous voice, "Last year really paid off, didn't it?"

At some point during their fourth year, Tom decided that Slughorn would be a very valuable fountain of knowledge—the middle aged wizard knew much more than he put on, and he could be of incredible use to the two of them. So Tom had him hooked on his superior intelligence and magical ability, as well as the obvious fact that he would be "going places," so to speak, and Emma, who was very pretty and radiated power, used her good looks and charm to make him covet her.

"It really did." Tom murmured, playing along and bringing himself even closer to her, "You, my dear, are brilliant. You really are."

She smirked, and her next words, he knew were sincere, "I'm only learning as we go along. Helps that I have the best with me." She paused for a few moments, "Is he still watching?"

Tom spared a glance in the direction of the Head Table, and saw that Slughorn's eyes were no longer on the two of them. "No, we're good." He said breathlessly, pulling away. Emma bit her lip (a bad habit that seemed to be forming at a rapid pace), and looked back up at the Head Table. Slughorn was talking to Dumbledore now.

"He's _still _here?" Emma didn't even bother masking her distaste for the man as she leaned over to talk to Tom, "Why can't he just be... _gone_ or something?"

Tom opened his mouth and was about to answer, when Albus Dumbledore got up from his seat and went sweeping towards the Entrance Hall, presumably to collect the First Years and have them sorted. He just looked over at Emma, who smiled weakly. The rest of the students were congregated in the Great Hall when Dumbledore came back in, First Years following behind him.

"They're so cute." Emma commented, "All daze d and confused." They watched as the hat sung it's song, and then the first years were called up by name. It seemed to be a small load of about forty new students in total, and only seven were sorted into Slytherin; two boys and five girls. Tom and Emma congratulated them all individually, and Emma took into notice how flattered the girls all seemed to be while talking to her fellow Prefect.

"Welcome back to a new year at Hogwarts!" The Headmaster stood up, and the hall was silenced immediately. "This year, we have a single change in staff; Professor Goldbourough has been replaced in the Divination department by Professor Nilbourne, who I promise is an excellent seer. I just want to remind the students that the Forest is out of bounds, and..." Emma zoned out after a while. Next there would be the discussion about House points and the cup, as well as the Quidditch teams. She had no interest in either of them. She was scanning the hall until her eyes found...

"Oh look, Thomas, its Horny Hornby." She said quietly, "I wonder if she's prepared to have her life ruined." She barely breathed the sentence, and Tom chuckled a little bit. They weren't entirely sure what they were going to do, but in their third year of Hogwarts, they had already decided the fate of some of their fellow students. She looked throughout the hall again, and her smile turned wicked.

"What?" Tom asked, and he moved his head so he could see what she was smiling at. "Oh." He said, "You're not going to chicken out on me, are you, Miss Ashwood?"

"Absolutely not." She said, and he saw a glint of hatred in her eyes, "I definitely will not." She repeated. Dippet finished his speech, and as soon as the feast began and Emma had some food shovelled on her plate, Tom nudged her as a Fourth Year girl with glasses made her way over.

"Emma!" She said, "How was your summer! I'm glad to see that you're back this year!" Emma rearranged her face into the sweetest smile and gaze she could possibly muster.

"Hello, Myrtle! I was beginning to think you'd forgotten about me." She put on a frown, "My summer was absolutely amazing." She said, "I spent the warm days with my boyfriend, basking in the sunlight, getting tanned, and... you know." Tom felt disgusted even though he knew she was putting more glamour on it than there actually was. Myrtle was, indeed, hanging onto her every word, and no doubt fantisizing about what Emma and her _boyfriend_ did on those long days together. "How was your summer?"

"Oh..." Myrtle's face dropped, "Well as you know... the Muggles are at war right now." She said, and Emma had to resist the urge to roll her eyes. She didn't care much about the _Muggle_ war. "So my parents and I had to go abroad to avoid it for a while. It wasn't a very good summer."

"Oh well that's too bad." Emma said, a sad tone to her voice, "But Tom and I have to uh, talk." She said, "So I'll see you later?"

"Yeah!" Myrtle grinned, "Wait, is _Tom_ your boyfriend?" She asked, and Emma smiled, biting her lip (again).

"No, it's Malfoy, actually." She said quietly, and Myrtle smiled anyways.

"Oh that's a great choice!" She exclaimed, sitting down quickly so she could wrap her arms around Emma, "I'll see you tomorrow!" She stood up, and bounded away.

"That girl is way too hyper." Tom commented as he bit into a piece of pork. Emma looked revolted.

"That mudblood just hugged me." She hissed, and he laughed, turning away from her. The feast ended, and the two of them directed the Slytherin students to the Common Room.

"Password is _ambition_!" Emma said quickly, and they all filed in quickly. "I'll see you later?" She added aside to Tom, who nodded.

"It's still early. Go get some sleep." He said, and she nodded, "I have something funny to tell you later, anyways."

Emma nodded again and made her way upstairs, where she collapsed onto her bed and fell asleep almost instantly.

She awoke with a start about six hours later, looked at her watch, and saw that it was 2:55. _Perfect timing_. She thought, but somewhat suspected that the boy she was meeting had something to do with her timely arousal. She got up, brushed the knots out of her hair, and walked down to the Common Room.

"Good morning, Emma." His voice was low from the other side of the room, and she saw that he was sitting in the corner furthest away from the entrance to the Common Room, as well as the entrance to the dormitories. She smiled widely at him as she made her way down to the couch he was sitting on and sat down next to him.

"Good evening, Thomas." She said in a low voice, licking her lips and grinning as he rolled his eyes.

"This 'Thomas' bit will never end, will it?"

"_Never_." Emma promised, "But maybe sometimes—you know... when I forget." Emma genuinely missed Tom over the holidays, and wished that he could come and visit her. They'd asked Professor Dippet after their second year, if he could come and visit for a few days, but of course, he just _had_ to go ask Dumbledore, who said that it probably wouldn't be for the best.

"So, how _was_ your summer?" Tom asked, sitting so that he was facing her. Emma sighed and shrugged.

"It wasn't bad. I've had better, though. Malfoy wouldn't leave me alone 'til I told him I'd date him." She said, "I mean I like him and everything, but I just... I don't know." She looked at him straight in the eyes. "How was the orphanage?"

"It was fine." Tom said, clearly a lie, because he blinked right as he said _fine_. "The kids there don't even bother me anymore. I stay in my room, I don't go near them."

"Sounds lonely." Emma frowned, they had this same talk every year. This was the first she was truly concerned, "We can see if you can come to my house for Christmas or something. Mum would love that."

"Great." Tom said, giving her the best smile he could muster. "Now, as for that _boyfriend _of yours. He told me to stay away from you, just for your information."

Emma raised an eyebrow. "Really, now?"

"Yeah. He told me to stay away from you, 'or else.'" Tom chucked, and Emma almost burst out laughing. "I don't know what he thinks he can do to me."

"Yeah, I'm sorry about him." Emma said after a few minutes, "I don't understand what his problem is."

"He can probably sense that you're not _all_ that into him, and thinks I'm the problem or something."

"Yeah probably." Emma agreed. They sat in silence for a few more minutes. "So?"

"So?"

"Did you figure stuff out this year?" Emma asked quietly, "I was doing some research this summer..."

"Yeah." Tom said quietly, "I found out that the entrance is located in the original Slytherin bedroom. He lived in this bedroom for about twenty years when he got sick of it and decided to move down to the dungeons, where he was more isolated, but he made his secret entrance in the original room."

"That's interesting." Emma said quietly, "Does it mention in _any_ books, the location of this room?"

"Slytherin never told anybody, and I guess it wasn't relevant to the other founders at the time." Tom replied, "So we're drawing a blank on that." He paused, "What did you find out?"

"We're definitely looking at a deadly species of snake here. Possibly a basilisk. It will need to be controlled." Emma replied, pushing a strand of blonde hair behind her ear. "The basilisk will kill upon having eye contact with its victim, so if we get in there and that's what it is... then we need to be prepared. Don't want any _accidents_."

"So we'll take mirrors until I can tell it not to harm either of us." Tom said, "But the real question is how will we find this stupid place."

"Maybe Slughorn knows?" Emma suggested, "I feel like he would, maybe. Or at least point us in the right direction."

"We don't want him getting _too_ suspicious, and he's creepy, Em. You see the way he stares at you."

"So we'll write it off as a History of Magic paper, and I can handle myself." Emma said, "Don't worry."

Tom didn't answer. They sat in silence again for a while, and finally, he yawned. "We can get another good three hours of sleep or so if we go back now." He said, and Emma stood up, also yawning.

"Sounds like a good idea." She held her arms open, and he allowed her to hug him, resting her head against his shoulder as she did so. "Goodnight, Thomas."

"Goodnight, Emma." He said, and they parted ways.

Emma got up to her room and crashed the moment she lay down on the bed, falling into a dreamless sleep.

**A/N: Hmm, a jealous boyfriend, a creepy teacher, and a plan. What could happen next? I updated today (Even though it's May 3rd now, I spent all of yesterday writing) to try to get it out for Wizard Independence Day :P ... Also here in Canada, I got to vote for the first time! Fun stuff! Next one should be out within the next day or so! Thanks to everyone who put it on alert or favourite or reviewed! I'm glad to know some are enjoying it! Stay tuned!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: I do not own any Harry Potter characters!**

**Chapter Five. **

**October 6th, 1943**

Just over a month had passed since school started, and neither Tom nor Emma could find what they were looking for. They also hadn't had another "meeting" at three o'clock in the morning since, but to have one would be impossible. Now in their O.W.L year, it was almost impossible to not be up until that time doing homework, anyways.

"Prefect duties tonight." Tom said quietly as he approached the couch Emma was sitting on. "You up for a chat?"

"Yeah." She replied, looking over at Malfoy, who was watching their exchange curiously, and giving him a small smile.

"Good. Nine o'clock, Ashwood." Tom shot her a secret smile and she went back to working on her Defense essay.

"What's going on with you two?" A voice asked, and Emma looked up, mildly surprised. Abraxas was standing where Tom had just been, a look of annoyance on his face.

"Nothing, Brax." Emma replied warily, "Don't worry about it. And don't you dare try threatening him again. I don't want you to get hurt." She said harshly. Malfoy looked taken aback, but said nothing. He turned around and walked away, and Emma felt a cruel sense of satisfaction.

She closed her book and left the Common Room, walking up to the Great Hall to get some lunch before it was finished being served.

"Emma!" She whipped around to see stringy haired Myrtle following her. She smiled widely.

"Myrtle! What are you doing here, down in the dungeons?"

"Olive chased me down here." She said miserably, before bursting into tears. Emma watched awkwardly, not quite knowing what to do.

"Erm— would you like to come up to lunch with me?" She asked, and Myrtle nodded, smiling.

"Maybe if Olive sees me with _you,_ she'll leave me alone." She resolved, "Will _Tom _be there?" Upon finding out that Emma and Tom were _not_ in fact together, Myrtle seemed to decide that she, like almost every other girl in the school, would realize her massive crush on him.

Emma shrugged. "He might," She answered truthfully, "He and I don't coordinate our schedules."

Myrtle just giggled (presumably at the thought of Tom), and followed Emma up the stairs. They made it to the corridor above the dungeons, and when they got to the Great Hall, Myrtle giggled in delight at the sight of Tom, who was sitting with the usual crowd of Avery, Lestrange, and Mulciber.

They made their way over, and Tom spotted Emma right away. If he was shocked at her company, then he didn't show it. Emma walked over to the Slytherin table and Lestrange automatically shifted so that she could take her place next to Tom.

All of the boys were looking at Myrtle, who had come around the other side, with contempt, and Emma looked at them expectantly. "Avery, Mulciber." She said, her tone commanding, "Separate."

They both glanced between Emma and Tom for a split second before they obeyed, moving aside so that Myrtle could sit right across from Tom.

"Riddle, pass the rolls, please." Emma requested, not even sparing him a glance. He handed her a small bowl filled with little rolls of bread, and she said, "Thank you."

They ate in silence for a while, and Emma barely looked up. When she did, she was annoyed to see that Myrtle was staring at Tom from across the table. Could she be more obvious?

She cleared her throat. "Have all of you finished the Potion's essay?" She asked, looking mostly at Avery, Mulciber, and Lestrange. Two of them shook their heads, but Lestrange nodded.

"I finished, as well." Tom spoke up, turning his head to face Emma. She looked past him and saw that Dumbledore had finished his lunch and was leaving the hall, presumably to go teach the next class. She relaxed, but only he could tell—that look of holding her breath in for the entire conversation was gone.

"Good." She said, letting a small smile grace her features, "I expect Slughorn won't be too happy if not many of us turn it in."

"Well he won't be happy if _we _don't turn it in." Avery chuckled, "But I doubt he could care less about his _perfect_ Prefects." Emma looked at him sharply, and he closed his mouth immediately. She then remembered Myrtle, who was sitting there quietly.

"Myrtle, what class do you have next?" She asked quietly, and the younger girl looked up.

"Transfiguration." She muttered, almost stuttering. Emma looked over at Tom to see him staring at Myrtle with an intense gaze. She nudged him with her knee, and he nudged her back.

"Stop." She hissed in his ear, her breath tickling him.

"Stop what?" He muttered back, turning that charming smile onto his friend. She just smirked challengingly at him.

"We have Charms and then Potions." Emma said, turning a smiling face back over to the Ravenclaw, "But you know, Myrtle, I saw Dumbledore leave, so maybe you should go to class?"

"Good idea, Em." She smiled brightly, "Thanks for letting me sit with you guys! Bye Emma!" She started to run out of the hall, before calling back, "Bye, Tom!"

"I reckon we should get going to class now too, eh Tom?" Lestrange said, and the good looking boy, who was still staring Emma down, nodded in acknowledgement, but didn't move a muscle.

Finally, her eye twitched and then she blinked, and Tom finally looked away, a smug look on his face. "I win again, Emma." He muttered, and she rolled her eyes.

"I just caught sight of Horny Hornby coming this way. Of course I twitched." She replied, and went into a coughing fit as a plump but pretty black haired girl came towards them.

"Good afternoon, Tom." She said, her voice thick and _too_ sweet, "How are you today?"

He seemed to be stifling a laugh, much to Emma's pleasure. "Hello, Olive," He said in a cool tone, "To what do I owe this pleasure?"

"The pleasure is all _mine_, Tom." Olive said back, casting a dark glance at Emma, who was still sitting rather close to him.

"Oh hey Hornby." She smiled gently at the older girl, "How are you today?"

"Shut up, Ashwood." Olive said with a scowl, "I wasn't talking to you."

Emma shut up, but glared at the girl, wishing her a slow, painful death. "So Tom, Hogsmeade is coming up." Olive continued as though she hadn't just scorned his—for lack of a better term—best friend, "Would you like to come with me?"

Tom sighed, "Olive. You've asked me every single time since I was in my third year. And the answer remains the same. I'm going with Emma again this year, and possibly Avery and Lestrange." Mulciber didn't have permission to go to Hogsmeade since his privileges were revoked last year after he sexually assaulted a girl. He would have been expelled, but thanks to Tom and Emma, and a new piece of magic they'd been working on, her memory was slightly altered. They suspected Mulciber, but they couldn't pinpoint him for sure.

Olive's face became angry. "Why do you _always_ go with _her_?" She practically shrieked, "You're not even _dating_!"

Emma shrugged, "Guess he just likes my company better. Sorry, Olive." She shot her a death glare before rearranging her face (again) into a lovely smile, "Maybe you can join Tom and I next time?"

The damage had already been done. Olive was staring at Emma, terrified, and she turned and stomped away without another word. Emma felt Tom's gaze on her again, and as they stood up to go to class, he whispered, "What did you do?"

"Don't worry." Emma said quietly, "She's getting what she deserves, and she'll never bug me again. And she won't tell a soul." She stopped dead in her tracks. "Can you cover for me? Say that I'm sick or something—I'll stop by the hospital wing and everything."

Tom nodded. "Yeah." He said, "Just be careful, okay?"

"I will be." She said breathlessly, "But _almost_ everyone needs to get to class. Now."

He nodded once again, and turned in the other direction, going towards their classroom. Emma turned back the way they came, and slid behind a tapestry stealthily, waiting for the halls to be empty.

Finally, the last bell rang, and the hall was empty except for one straggler—a seventh year Hufflepuff girl; same house as Olive. Emma nearly snorted at the thought, but she peeked out from behind as the girl began to walk by. _Expelleramus_. She thought, and non verbally disarmed the girl.

Her wand came flying into Emma's hand, and the blonde Slytherin stepped out from behind the tapestry. She had her face set to her most menacing look as she whispered to the girl, "What's your name?"

"R-rebecca." The girl managed to squeak, and Emma smiled.

"Hello Rebecca." She said, and then, _"Silenco!_" She looked the girl once over again, "_Petrificus Totallus!" _She was stiff as a board, and Emma nonverbally levitated her along to the secret passageway behind the tapestry.

She propped Rebecca up against the wall and turned to face her, making complete and total eye contact. She held up her own wand, and stared at it for a moment before putting it away. She took Rebecca's wand out and put it to its owner's temple.

Emma did some more non verbal spells—dark magic that she and Tom had discovered over the last year or so that she'd been practicing on her parents—and then said very softly, "Rebecca, you and I had a little talk today about Quidditch. I told you that I was hoping that Slytherin wins, and you said they had no chance. We debated but then you left. I was very polite and sweet, and I told you that I was headed to the hospital wing. You went to class. _Now_ you will go to class and act completely ordinary. No one will realize anything is different. Tonight, after dinner, you will go up to Olive Hornby's dorm. You _will_ wait for her to arrive, and then you will take a knife and attack her with it. You will _not_ kill her, but scare her. Then you _will_ take full accountability for your actions, and go on with life as normal. Nothing will change after this event." She did not break the eye contact the entire time, and was satisfied to see that Rebecca's pupils were getting bigger and smaller as she spoke. She muttered a few more incantations under her breath, before removing the wand, which would give her ten seconds to remove the body bind curse.

"I don't care what you say, Ashwood. Hufflepuff is going to win this year." Rebecca said, before looking at Emma closely, "You don't look too good—didn't you say you were on the way to the Hospital Wing?"

"Yes." Emma smiled widely at the girl, "Thank you for reminding me! I'll see you later, Rebecca!" Emma called, and she made her way up the stairs to the hospital wing.

Three hours later, Madam Pomfrey came over to her bedside. "Well, my dear, I don't know what was wrong with you... but you're perfectly healthy now! Your blood tests have run clean!"

"Thank you, I should get going to Prefect duties anyways." Emma smiled nicely at her; she'd always liked the matron, and felt bad when she had to fake an illness, but it was necessary. She got up and left, walking briskly down to the library where she and Tom would meet.

"Emma." He seemed relieved, "What did you do?"

"Something horrible." She said, "She will _never_ say anything to me again."

"Was it stupid enough that you can get caught?"

"I didn't use an unforgiveable curse, if that's what you're asking. I'm always afraid they can detect those." Emma said quietly, "I used that spell we learned last Christmas."

"And it worked?" Tom's face was pure disbelief, but it morphed into a real smile. "It really worked?"

"Yes!" She said, "I mean I used it on a _Hufflepuff_, but it worked. So we might actually be able to get away with using it when we..." She trailed off: he knew what she meant.

"Let me take you somewhere." Tom said, "Blow off our Prefect duties for—one night. How many do we get these days?"

"Zero." Emma said quietly, "But I never thought I'd see the day where Tom Riddle wants to blow off duty."

"Just this once." He said, "Just for you." And then he took off, walking quickly towards the closest set of stairs. Emma almost had to run to keep up with his long strides, but they ended up on the seventh floor in front of a big patch of wall.

"Where are we?" She asked breathlessly, and he just gave her a lopsided smile.

"This, Em, is the Room of Requirement."

**A/N: Sorry if it's a little bit rough... I didn't look over it because I'm pumped to just go to bed tonight! So this chapter shows a bit more of Emma's malevolent and cruel side, I guess. I think I just want you to remember that she's not there to be a girl Tom Riddle falls in love with or something. What shall happen next in the Room? What will happen with Horny Hornby (sorry I _love_ that name) and a fast fact: Rebecca was Emma's original name, but I decided to change it last minute. (I WAS HONESTLY GOING TO NAME HER REBECCA BLACK TO BE LIKE SIRIUS' AUNT OR SOMETHING, BUT THEN I REMEMBERED THAT STUPID SINGER)... that is all! Thanks for reviewing/alerting! See you next time!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: I do not own any Harry Potter characters!**

Chapter Six

**Continuation**

"What is the room of requirement?" Emma asked, a look of confusion plastered upon her face. Tom chucked.

"I read about it in a book when I was looking for my ancestry. It basically appears when you need it. I'm pretty sure I'm the only person who has ever found it.' He grinned, and then said, "After you, my dear."

Emma entered the room before Tom and gasped. It was so huge and beautiful. The walls were adorned with green and silver-the Slytherin colors, and the couches were fluffy and soft looking, made of black material. The entire far wall was covered with books that Emma could only assume were full of spells, and there was an empty fireplace grate in the far corner.

"I used to come here to think." he said quietly, walking over to the couch and sitting down. "I thought I should finally share it with you though... We can come here to talk or something."

"That would work better than the Common Room." Emma agreed, plopping down next to him and resting her head on the back part. She just realized how exhausted she was.

"I hate to say this, Em, but I do not think we'll be able to do this _without_ Slughorn's help."

She looked over at him, concerned. Tom never wanted to get outside help; she could see sometimes that he struggled to ask her for assistance most of the time if he even needed it. "Are you sure? I know how you feel about him."

"He _loves_ us. I am quite certain that our efforts will turn out in our favour." Tom replied, sitting back and allowing himself to relax. Emma found herself staring at him for some unknown reason. His hair was dark and put together properly, his skin was almost paler than hers—and completely blemish or spot free, and his eyes were so dark that sometimes she thought they were black.

There was no denying the fact that Emma found Tom Riddle incredibly attractive—every girl at Hogwarts did. She admired his personality even more though, and the fact that they were so similar. He was the only person she'd ever shown her _true_ self to, and he accepted her for who she was. Or so... she hoped. Sometimes she was worried that he regarded her the way he did the rest of their group, and was completely lying about who he was.

"Do you want to go see him tomorrow, then?" Emma asked quietly, as if a million thoughts _hadn't_ just been chasing through her head. He didn't answer, but he did stare at her for a few more moments before snapping out of a reverie.

"Yeah. After class, I guess. I know he doesn't have anyone after us." Emma barely heard what he said—she was self consciously tucking a piece of her hair behind her ears, wondering why he was looking at her like that. It was kind of creepy. "Emma?"

Tom was looking at her with something like concern on his face, and she completely snapped out of her daze. "Sorry." She said, "I'm really exhausted."

"Oh, do you want to go back to the Common Room?" He asked quickly, and she shook her head.

"I don't want to miss out on my Thomas time." She said with a sly smile. "_And_, we need to be out of here by ten because by that time, Olive will be in the hospital wing." Her smile turned even bigger, and Tom smirked.

"What exactly did you do to her?"

"You're going to think I'm mean and not want to hang out with me anymore." She said with big eyes; testing him.

"Emma, don't be ridiculous." Tom said quickly, putting a hand on her shoulder and leaning a bit closer to her, "_Nothing_ would make me not want to hang out with you."

She seemed satisfied at the answer, and didn't press the topic any further. She took out her wand and pointed it at the grate, making flames shoot into the cold, concrete box. They crackled for a moment before settling down.

"So how's Malfoy?"

Emma looked over and rolled her eyes. "He was complaining this morning about us talking in the Common Room."

"Want me to tell him he's forbidden to see you anymore?"

Emma shot Tom a sharp look. "No." She said, "You shouldn't use your powers over them for something that insignificant."

"It's not insignificant." Tom stated flatly, and Emma dropped the subject.

"I don't really even like him much," She said, "My parents do though. As you know... they're sticklers about _tradition_. They want me to marry Brax."

Tom looked closely at her. "Do you want to marry him?"

"I suppose so." She replied slowly, "I mean, he's rich and nice, and I know that my future would be set, and since he's a pureblood, my parents approve of him."

Tom couldn't help but thinking thathe could get his parents to approve of _him_ if he really tried, but he cast the thought away immediately. After four years, he, of course, had thought about Emma in _that_ way—she _was _the prettiest girl in their year after all, and happened to consider him her best friend, but it was way too cliché for his taste.

"Well then I certainly won't interfere with fate."

She bit her lip and looked at him for a second, before taking a breath and standing up. "We should get back on the radar now." She said, and he stuck his hand out for her to grab and pull him up.

He led them out of the room, and almost immediately after the door sealed itself shut, they heard ear piercing shrieks. "Let's go." Tom said seriously to Emma, and they ran towards the source of the noise. They saw Slughorn, Dumbledore, and Dippet, as well as the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, who was also the head of Hufflepuff, Professor Merrythought.

"What's going on?" Emma asked as soon as they got to the group, and she actually had to _hold back_ a smile when she saw that they were shielding a very bloody, mutilated Olive.

"Professors, you get Miss Horby to the hospital wing. I have to return to my office to deal with Miss Abbott." Dippet said quickly, "I'll explain the situation to Miss Ashwood and Mister Riddle."

"Professor—are you sure that's a good idea?" Dumbledore. Of course. Emma turned to look at his face quickly, which was showing no emotion except mild concern.

"Why wouldn't it be, Albus?" Merrythought asked, shifting her thoughtful expression to the two teenagers, "Tom and Emma are at the top of my class—if anyone was qualified enough to handle these situations, it's the two of them."

Dumbledore didn't say another word; he merely strode away, beckoning Slughorn and Merrythought to follow him. Emma sent a small, subtle smile to Tom who returned that with a nod, and they followed Professor Dippet upstairs. The excursion was a very quiet one. They walked up to the entrance, Armando said the password quietly, and the three of them ascended up the staircase.

Rebecca Abbott was standing in the middle of the room, completely unphased. "Miss. Abbott. Can you explain your actions from tonight?" Dippet asked, and Rebecca shrugged.

"Olive is a bully. It was time she got what she deserved."

Emma was laughing on the inside. "Professor, Olive is quite mean." She backed Rebecca up on this one, knowing that her support wouldn't nearly be enough.

"That is true, but regardless, Olive Hornby will have to spend a month in St. Mungos." Dippet said quietly, "I'll have to call the Ministry and your parents and have you expelled."

Emma looked over at Rebecca, eager to see what her next move would be. "But sir, I didn't use _magic_ to hurt Olive. I used a knife."

"That's still reckless! It's assault! Your impulsive behaviour will have to be addressed." He looked over at Tom and Emma, "As you can tell, Miss. Abbott attacked Olive Hornby with a knife earlier this evening. Mutilated her face, almost hit severe organs. She's lucky she wasn't killed."

"Sir!" Emma gasped, "That's horrible! She ought to be expelled then, for that kind of behaviour."

"What say you, Tom?" Dippet asked, "Any words to weigh in?"

"Nothing in particular, sir." Tom said slowly, "Just that I'm _sure_ you'll make the right decision."

Dippet smiled and dismissed the two of them. Tom and Emma hurried back to the dungeons quickly and without a word to each other—standing almost five feet apart in from each other in case Dumbledore was lurking about.

They got in and collapsed on their couch in the corner of the Common Room.

"Tomorrow, we talk to Slughorn." Tom vowed. Emma nodded in agreement.

"Tomorrow."

**A/N: Sorry it's so short! But after this chapter the ball on the Chamber gets moving, and in maybe three or four chapters, we might see some Basilisk action ;) I've actually got so many ideas written down in this little notebook, and so many scenarios, but when I go to type it it's all awkward. **

**Thanks for all the "favourites" I'm getting! I appreciate all of you who read my stories! If you're interested in reading a different kind of Potter fanfiction, set in this exact time period, starring myself and my good friend Katelyn (but it includes a lot of the original Harry Potter characters and some of the new gen as well) then go to my profile, because I have the link to the site that is on! Thanks again!  
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	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: I do not own any Harry Potter characters!**

Chapter Seven

**The Next Day**

"Professor!" Emma called as she ran after Horace Slughorn in the hall; this had to be executed with perfection or else it would completely fail.

She was alone, of course, because although Slughorn loved Tom Riddle like a son (or something like that), he was also a tad bit unnerved by the fifteen year old.

Slughorn turned around and smiled at the sight of Emma. "Miss. Ashwood!" He was positively beaming now, "What brings you to see me today?"

Emma batted her eyelashes and put on a sweet smile. "Sir, I was wondering if we might meet up at approximately seven o'clock this evening—I have a couple of questions for you." Under Tom's direction, she basically made herself absolutely irresistible.

"But Emma—Miss. Ashwood—that will cut into dinner time."

Of course they'd been prepared for this. Emma batted her eyelashes and bit her lip, making sure to look up, directly into his eyes. Slughorn gulped. "Please, sir? It's rather important, you see... for a project I've been putting off for some time now, and I just—I _need_ some help." She mustered up the most "seductive" look she possibly could.

Slughorn looked very flustered. "Okay, I guess. No later." He added quietly, "And we need to make it quick."

Emma grinned. "Awesome." She said, "We'll see you later then."

"_W-we?" _Slughorn sputtered, his eyes squinting slightly.

"Yes." Emma licked her lips, "Tom and I." She smiled again, and flitted down the corridor before he could catch up or utter another word.

Emma walked down to the dungeons and entered the Slytherin Common Room, ignoring Abraxas' calls as she made a beeline for the boys dormitories, and entering the room she knew was shared between Tom and five of their other friends.

The bed at the very back belonged to him, and the hangings were drawn. "Tom?" She called tentatively, walking in that direction.

"Emma? You can come right over." He called right back, and she quickened her pace to make it over there, slipping through the curtains.

Tom was lounged on the bed, legs crossed at the end, with a book in his hands. His hair was all tousled and he looked almost sleep deprived.

Emma couldn't help but think that he was incredibly cute at this precise moment, as he beckoned for her to come stretch out next to him. She lay down beside him, and he turned to look at her.

"Are we good for tonight?"

"Yeah." She said quietly, "We're great."

He smiled at her, "Good. He'll be pissed that you're taking me along. Are you prepared for that?"

"Of course." She said quickly, "I don't need Slughorn's approval." She said, "If it'll make him stay away from me, actually, I will be very happy."

Tom chuckled a bit. "He is a bit creepy." He agreed, grabbing her left hand and playing with her fingers. Emma closed her eyes, letting herself sink into the mattress. It was the first she'd been able to relax in way too long. Like—truly relax.

He seemed to be thinking along the same lines. "Embrace this moment." He whispered, "Before our Defense essay is due on Friday, before we have that potions assignment due tomorrow, and before we have to do more acting and Prefect duties tonight."

Emma groaned at the thought of Prefect duties that night. They were really starting to become a pain. She was, however, annoyed at Tom's ability to handle all of this without a single problem. As if he read her thoughts, he smiled.

"I have problems, Miss. Ashwood." He said in a low voice, "I think I've just perfected the art of hiding it."

Emma raised an eyebrow, and turned so her entire body was facing him. "What is riddling you, Mr. Riddle?" She asked, holding back a small smile.

"Feelings." He said quietly, "Fears."

"You're afraid of things?" Emma asked softly; she'd always been under the impression that Tom was fearless.

"One thing in particular." Tom was staring interestedly at her hand, and suddenly Emma was struck with the feeling that she really didn't want him to elaborate. He did anyway. "Death."

"You're afraid of death?" She asked quietly, licking her lips as she stared at him closely. "I think you're about a hundred years off of that—if not more." She added, "Wizards live long lives. Healthy wizards live even longer. You're both."

Tom almost cracked a smile at her attempt to lighten the situation, but he knew she wasn't completely stupid, and Emma knew exactly what he was talking about.

"There are always ways to evade what we fear most—and avoid it." She said cryptically, giving him a coy smile, "It's just a matter of finding it."

Tom found himself unexplainably moving closer towards the blonde girl—struck with the unprecedented urge to kiss her until he couldn't breathe. He touched her face lightly, moving the hair away from her pretty eyes so he could see them as he brought her face closer to his own.

Their lips were barely touching when the door to the dormitory burst open, and Emma quickly slid under the covers. Tom shifted over so that the extra lump would be almost unnoticeable. If the right person came in, it would be. Thankfully, it was Mulciber.

"Tom, is Emma in here? Abraxas said he saw her come up to the dormitories." He asked slowly, looking around the room as he did so. Tom shook his head.

"I was hoping she'd come up and see me... but I haven't seen her all afternoon, unfortunately." He replied icily. Mulciber didn't even hesitate.

"Alright, sorry to bug you, Tom."

Riddle nodded in dismissal, and Mulciber left quickly. As soon as his footsteps could be heard retreating down the stairway, Emma popped back up. Tom watched her closely as she stood up and straightened out her clothes, barely sparing him a glance.

"I have to go to the library and finish off a Defense essay." She said, avoiding all eye contact, "I'll see you at six thirty?"

Tom glanced at his watch. It was already four o'clock. He glanced back over at Emma. "Are you going to be around at six for an early dinner?"

"I guess so." She looked up at him and smiled reassuringly. "We'll get what we need, and then in a month we can go through with the plan."

"In a month?"

"We _need_ Olive." Tom said quietly, "Please, Tom."

He nodded, and she gave him another quick smile before walking quickly out the door. Once she was gone, Tom mentally slapped himself. He almost _kissed _her. _Emma_. The one girl he wouldn't want to get involved with. Well, no. He would want to get involved with her. He just couldn't. Attachment was a sign of weakness.

_You're already attached to her._ A voice in his head said venomously, _Or you would be able to leave her behind._

He ignored this. Attachment lead to obsession or love. Both were also signs of weaknesses. Shaking his head, he pulled out his journal. Emma had given it to him as a gift before the beginning of the school year, telling him that she found it in a cute little shop during the summer and thought of him. He had been trying to save it for his sixteenth birthday the following December, but the urge to write his thoughts in the book was becoming much too persuasive.

Just as he began to write the date, the door burst open and Avery walked in, followed closely by Lestrange. "Writing in your diary, Tom?" Lestrange asked with a stupid smile on his face.

"It's not a diary, you buffoon, it's a _journal_. What are you two doing up here?"

Avery looked terrified. "Sorry, Tom—we were just coming to see if you wanted to have dinner with us?"

"Whatever." Tom muttered his reply, "You two, can come meet up with Emma and I at six thirty."

Avery grinned. "See you then! Oh, and I think Abraxas is looking for you downstairs."

"I guess I could come see what he'd like then, _must_ be important." Tom replied sarcastically, standing up and stretching. He walked to the doorway where the two boys were waiting for him, and gestured for them to get moving towards the Common Room.

Abraxas was waiting on a couch by the fireplace—the farthest possible away from where Tom and Emma usually led the group to sit.

He saw Tom and immediately stood up. "I told you to stay away from her." He growled, "But you're with her more than ever now."

"You don't own her, Abraxas. Ever think that maybe Emma prefers my company?" Tom asked, looking Malfoy directly in the eyes, "I've never told her to _not_ go be with you."

.Malfoy stared at Tom for a very long time, but something in the younger boy's eyes seemed to startle him. "This isn't over." He hissed before walking away.

Tom smirked. "That was anticlimactic." He muttered as he walked back upstairs to his room. He glanced down at his watch. 4:15. Pulling out his journal, he continued jotting down the date and began to write.

**A/N:: Sorry this took so long! I've been writing just this chapter for a week, and although I originally wanted to add the part where they go talk to Slughorn, I'm saving it for next time. It still has to be to everyone who's favourited and reviewed and subscribed! You all make me happy. And yeah, this chapter was KIND of fluffy. You can thank Katelyn and her Klaine fluff all over my tumblr dashboard for that :)  
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	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: I do not own any Harry Potter characters!**

Chapter 8

**Later that Night**

Tom was surrounded by his _favourite_ people—Avery, Lestrange, and Mulciber, at the dinner table that night, but he barely ate anything. He was too nervous. He was staring at his watch, and at approximately six o'clock, Emma slid into the seat next to him.

"Hey." She said breathlessly, sending him a small smile. Dumbledore wasn't one to have an early supper, so he was part of the majority of the school that hadn't arrived yet.

"Hey." He said, watching her with a slight smile on his face. She took some food, shovelling roast beef and mashed potatoes onto her plate. She looked over at him and blushed, brushing her hand slightly over his under the table. His skin tingled, and he knew he was beginning to get these things that girls called "butterflies" in his stomach, because it felt as though little tiny bugs were fluttering inside of his body and wouldn't sit still.

"Are you going to eat anything?" She asked, bringing that hand back up to move a lock of hair out of her face. He shook his head.

"I'm not hungry."

Emma frowned. "Thomas, you _should_ eat something." She said quietly, "Or you'll pass out early on me tonight, and we have rounds."

"Fine." He picked up his fork and took scoop of mashed potatoes off of her plate. Emma rolled her eyes as she went back to eating in silence.

Out of the corner of her eye, Emma saw Dumbledore sweep into the hall. She looked at her watch. Six ten. Emma slowly moved farther away from Tom so their shoulders weren't so obviously brushing. She fixed her smile on Avery, who was across from her.

"Robert, how have you been lately, darling? I feel as though we haven't spoken in ages."

Tom, who knew that her affectionate words were only for "Dumbledore acting" as they liked to call it, couldn't help but think that Avery looked much _too_ excited.

The black haired boy smiled at Emma. "I'm even more incredible now, my dear." He said, a corny ring to his tone. Mulciber, who was sitting next to Avery, gagged.

"How's your lovely _fiancé_, Mary?" Emma asked with a smirk on his face. Avery, who was unfortunate enough to have _extremely_ traditional parents, was already engaged to his future wife, who was predetermined. Mary Kindsworth was only in her fourth year.

"Irrelevant, Em." Avery replied, grinning at her. Most girls would take offense to his lack of respect towards his "woman," but he knew that Emma was different. She'd embrace it.

"I agree." She stood up and walked around the table, making sure to pass Albus Dumbledore, and sat down next to him, making sure to sidle up very close.

Tom raised an eyebrow, but didn't say anything. It was all acting. Emma shot him an apologetic look, and then inwardly frowned. She was "acting," but she'd always thought Robert was good looking. Not as good as Tom, of course, but she couldn't have _him_ in her mind. Avery could be a distraction from the dark and mysterious young man sitting across from her.

"Emma!" The loud, obnoxious voice called from the end of the table. She knew that voice anywhere, of course, since he was her actually current boyfriend. Abraxas raised an eyebrow as he studied the proximity between his two friends, but then decided that as long as Emma wasn't next to Tom, he was happy. The platinum blond haired boy wedged his way between Emma and Robert, taking his girlfriend's hand in his. "I've been looking for you _everywhere_." He said exasperatedly.

Emma smiled innocently at him. "I've just been in the library." She said, "Working on one of my many essays. You must have better things to do than look for me all day though, Malfoy," she paused, "What with all the NEWT assignments you've been complaining about."

A chuckle could be heard from the other side of the table, but Emma didn't acknowledge it—Dumbledore was walking their way.

"Good evening, Miss Ashwood." She could feel his presence right behind her, and she turned around, putting a carefully constructed, dangerous smile on her face.

"Hello, Professor." She cocked her head to the side, "Anything I can do for you tonight?"

"Actually, I was hoping you'd take a walk with me." Dumbledore said quietly. Emma could feel a couple sets of eyes on her, but one pair in particular, burning into her skull. She didn't dare cast a glance at him.

"I have a meeting with Professor Slughorn at seven, and I don't really want to be late."

"This won't take long, Miss Ashwood," Dumbledore replied gravely. She shrugged, and let go of Abraxas' hand, following Dumbledore out of the Great Hall.

"What is it you would like to speak to me about?" Emma asked innocently, biting her lip a little bit for a nervous effect.

"How is your fifth year going?"

"A bit hard, sir." Emma answered honestly, "I think that all the teachers intend on killing us with assignments."

Dumbledore smiled. "I'm sure you'll do just fine, Miss Ashwood. You're quite the bright young witch—but even so, I'm sure that some of your classmates can help you out."

Emma almost laughed. "Sir, I'm sure that we can be in agreement that the Slytherin bunch aren't exactly the brightest."

"Mr. Riddle is probably one of the brightest wizards in the school. I'm _sure_ if you asked Tom to help you, he'd gladly be of assistance."

"I guess I could." Emma said, trying to look thoughtful, "I've never really spoken to Tom outside of our Prefect rounds, before."

"Really?"Dumbledore looked genuinely confused, "I was under the impression that the two of you... seemingly having _so_ much in common, would become quite close."

"What do Tom and I have in common?"

Dumbledore smiled. "Your talent and brightness, for one. You're both highly popular amongst all the students—no matter what house they're in. You share friends and a house, and you're both masters at the craft of deceptiveness." He finished off with a menacing look, but Emma, who knew he was absolutely right, did not let the surprise show on her face.

"I don't know what you're talking about, sir." She said slowly, "But," She looked at her watch, "I have to meet up with Professor Slughorn, and I would like a chance to finish my supper."

"Alright." Dumbledore said softly, "And, Miss Ashwood, it might interest you to know that Olive Hornby has already made a full recovery."

Shit. Emma couldn't let the surprise slip off of her face this time—she knew that her eyes had widened and her eyebrows rose significantly, and the look of triumph on Albus Dumbledore's face was enough for her to know that he'd seen it. She gave him one last cool smile—in attempt to save her composure—and strutted back into the Great Hall.

"Is everything alright, Emma?" Abraxas asked immediately. She turned to face him and smirked, nodding her head.

"Fine." She said sharply, "But Tom and I have a meeting with Slughorn in a few minutes. We'd better head off." Dumbledore hadn't returned to the Great Hall, so she figured that they could get away with leaving together.

"I thought you said that meeting wasn't until seven?" Malfoy asked, a slight growl to his voice. Emma opened her mouth to answer, but Tom beat her to it.

"Emma and I have a couple of questions to ask Horace about our essays. We just need some time to prepare them so we don't end up looking completely stupid in front of him. I didn't really think it was your business, _Malfoy_."

"Be nice, Tom." Emma scolded dangerously. He turned to glare at her, and saw nothing but tension in the younger girl's face. She was stressing, and bad. He shut up, and ignored whatever smart retort Malfoy had mumbled under his breath.

Emma began to walk out of the Great Hall, and Tom followed her out, practically having to run to keep up with her pace. "Where's the fire?" He asked, finally catching up. She was looking around from side to side, acting paranoid.

She ignored him until they got back to the Common Room, and Tom grabbed her shoulders, staring her right in the eyes. "Emma. What happened?"

"He _knows_, Tom. The stupid old man _knows._"

"He knows what?" Tom asked, trying to remain as calm on the inside as he was projecting.

"He knows that we're friends. He knows that Olive is _my_ fault."

"What did he say to you?"

They went through the conversation, and finally, Tom sat down next to Emma on the couch. "It sounds as though he knows and _suspects_ a lot. He has absolutely _no_ evidence to prove it though. Don't worry, Emma." He said, putting his hand on her arm again in a comforting gesture. To Emma, it was both comforting _and_ unsettling. It was very un-Tom-like to be "comforting."

She looked at her watch quickly. Six fifty five. She stood up abruptly, and said, 'We'd better go see Sluggy-boy before we're late and he ditches us."

Tom raised an eyebrow, not acknowledging her nickname. "Yes, we'd better head over to his office."

The walk over to Slughorn's office was very short, as it was just down the corridor from the Slytherin Common Room. Emma knocked three short times, and when she heard a faint "Come in!" she turned the knob and walked in through the door, Tom following so closely behind her that she could almost feel his breath on the back of her neck.

"Emma, dear. What is it that you needed to talk so desperately to me about?" Slughorn asked once he saw her walk into the main part of the room.

"_Tom_ and I, have been working on a bit of investigative research." Emma said slowly, sitting across from the professor at his desk, "We're missing some key facts though, and were wondering if you might be able to help us."

"Certainly, dear. Anything." Slughorn said greasily, looking uneasily at Tom, who had conjured another chair and taken a seat.

Emma smiled sweetly at him. "We're doing a project—mostly family based, seeing as Thomas is the last remaining relative of Salazar Slytherin." The two of them decided that divulging this much information to Slughorn wouldn't hurt them one bit; even if the stupid man was smart enough to put two and two together, he'd _never_ tell. He was too intimidated by Tom.

"The _last_ remaining relative? Surely that can't be?"

Tom smiled, "I have yet to call on my uncle to check if he's alive still or not." It was meant to be a light hearted joke, but both Tom and Emma were quite aware that he _would_ be the last remaining descendant of Slytherin come the summer.

"Ah, well then what is it you wish to know, dear boy?"

Tom smiled, and Emma was also smiling serenely. To Slughorn, it was _very_ disturbing. "We were wondering where Slytherin's original quarters in the castle was? I know that he was moved down to the dungeons very shortly after the first couple years the school was opened, but I'm just very unsure about the whereabouts of his first home."

"Well, Tom," Slughorn snuck a look at Emma, who bit her lip, "There is much speculation that he was on one of the lower floors, but certainly not in the dungeon. I'm not entirely sure, to be honest. If you two want to do some more investigation—I'd check classrooms and areas that are attached to bathrooms. I know that Slytherin had his own private lavatory, and it was most likely changed to a common bathroom after he moved out—so they wouldn't have to change the plumbing."

"Thank you, sir. Emma and I will have to go do some "investigative work" as you suggested." Tom stood up, indicating that their business was finished.

"Anytime, Tom." Slughorn smiled, and looked back at Emma, "Are you...ahem..." He looked back at Tom again, "_Sure_ that there's nothing else I can do for you?"

Emma held back a laugh, and looked over at Tom for help. "Sir, Em and I need to go do Prefect rounds now." He said, walking over to Emma and grabbing her hand, beginning to tug her out of the room, "Thanks again!"

"Wow what a creeper." Emma said the second they were out of ear shot of his office, "Ever creepy teacher."

"I didn't think he was that bad, Em." Tom rolled his eyes, "As in, I've seen Slughorn be _more _inappropriate around you."

"That's true. But he's also inappropriate around Mulciber, trying to get with his older sister."

"Really?" Tom seemed to shudder, "That's disturbing."

"Yeah, kind of." Emma smiled, "So what are we doing now?"

"We'll do some of our essay in the Common Room, go do rounds, and go look for Slytherin's lair."

**A/N: I kind of enjoyed writing this chapter, filled with all the teenage drama and banter. Have to add that in at some point, so I hope you enjoyed reading it! Thank you to all the lovely reviewers, they always make my day, and every one who subscribed to alerts. "Seduction" is my most popular story on this site (out of like three), and it's the one that I put the most effort into so thank you! Just an added note, the next chapter follows after this one directly, but after that there will be a time skip probably... **

Thanks for reading! 


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer: I do not own any Harry Potter characters!**

**Chapter Nine**

Continuation

Emma Ashwood was unable to concentrate on her essay. Not when Tom Riddle's thigh was brushing up against hers as they sat on the couch, and all she could think about was their near-kiss. Her boyfriend was on the other side of the room, glaring at the two of them, and for a minute, she felt a rare burst of compassion. She looked to her right, and Tom was already staring at her.

"Go ahead." He said, "I'll be able to work without you."

She smiled in thanks, and stood up, adjusting her skirt as she did so. Tom watched as she walked away, a bit of a swagger in her step. He rolled his eyes. Emma was bursting with self confidence, something he'd never really had until he met her. He knew exactly what he was capable of course, even when that old fool had come to talk to him, but being around Emma for the past years had changed something.

Emma slowly walked over towards Abraxas. Part of her mind—the part the cared, knew that she had not been a good girlfriend lately. Malfoy, she knew, was aware that she and Tom were 'up to no good,' so to speak, and had a plan, but almost kissing the damn boy and throwing herself all over Avery were unnecessary.

Abraxas smiled when she walked over to him. "Hey there, Emma." He said, taking her hand, "What brings you to this side of the common room?"

"You looked lonely sitting all alone over here." She smiled softly, "I figured you could use some of my company."

"I would never reject _your_ company, that's for sure." Malfoy was still grinning, and he put an arm around his girlfriend. Emma took a few minutes to take in his appearance. He was tall—not as tall as Tom, but tall enough to be towering over her. He had a very pale face, and his white blond hair complimented it. She'd met his parents, and white blond hair seemed to run in the family. His eyes were a greyish blue, and Abraxas was positively handsome, in her opinion. Just not Tom.

"I want to apologize, Brax." Emma said quietly, "I haven't been the best girlfriend lately."

Abraxas bit his lip, "You and Riddle are up to something." He said, "I don't know what it is, and right now I don't even _want_ to know. But I've known the two of you together for the past five years, and you're clearly doing _something_. I mean, you barely talk to the boy in public! You're _always_ talking together and exchanging these—looks, and I'll be honest, Emma at first I was jealous. At first I thought you were being unfaithful to me, but then I realized that it's probably for _the greater good_."

When Abraxas finished ranting, Emma smiled at him, leaning up and kissing him softly on the lips. "It is for the greater good, Brax." She said softly, between kisses, "And one day we'll have the world."

She stayed with him for a while longer, occasionally feeling Tom's eyes burning into the side of her head. She was so confused she felt as though she was going insane, but she knew that her relationship with Abraxas had to remain stable.

"You should go finish up that essay before you do rounds." Malfoy finally said, and Emma, who had been resting on his chest, her eyes closed peacefully, opened one up and looked up at him.

"I guess so." She said quietly, standing up and stretching. "I'll see you tonight?"

"Do you want me to wait up?"

"Honestly, Brax?" Emma looked up into his eyes, "Tom and I may be later than usual—there are some things we want to check out."

"Alright," Abraxas bit his lip again, "I won't wait up for you then." He kissed her one last time before she crossed the room again, and plopped back down next to Tom. She pulled her essay towards her again, and grabbed a quill, adding a couple sentences here and there, when finally, she couldn't stand his unwavering gaze anymore.

"What?"

"Nothing." He said coldly, "Are you ready to go patrol now?"

"Tom." Emma said loudly, her voice firm, "Tell me what's wrong." She demanded. He looked her straight in the eye and said,

"No."

"Then _you_," She said, "Can go do this without me."

Tom glared at her. _Why_ did Emma have to be so difficult? "I'll tell you on the way." He spat, standing up. She followed suit, glaring at him even more, and followed him out of the Common Room. Their essays lay forgotten.

As they hurried quickly down the dungeon corridor, Emma said, "Will you tell me what's wrong now?"

"It doesn't matter anymore." Tom said. He seemed to have calmed down a great deal. "We're looking for something now."

"Figures—you'd lure me out here with a promise you can't even uphold." Emma muttered, but she didn't press the issue. He was right. They _were_ looking for something.

"What is your plan, Tom?" Emma asked after they ascended up the stairs to the Entrance Hall. They were on the "ground" floor, but there were no bathrooms anywhere near what _could_ have been living areas.

"I don't really have a plan." He said, "We're just _looking_."

Emma groaned, muttering something about spending time with her boyfriend instead, and Tom glared at her, quickening his pace so he was much ahead of the girl.

"The first floor has a boy's washroom... but it doesn't connect to anything. I've been in there a couple times—it's much cleaner than the dungeon bathrooms." Emma nodded in understanding. The Slytherin boys were pigs. Tom went on, "Have you ever been in the girls?"

"No." She replied quietly. But it is next to whatsisface's office. The caretaker's."

"Mr. Renah." Tom supplied helpfully; Emma rolled her eyes.

"Yes, him."

"That _could_ be a lead." Tom said, biting his lip, "Let's get up there."

"Remember to pretend like you're patrolling." Emma put in, and Tom restrained himself from glaring at her. He said nothing though, and just nodded in agreement.

Together, the pair made their way down the corridor and to the bathroom. "You go in... I'll go talk to Renah." Tom said, "And scope out the office."

"You do that." Emma said, walking into the bathroom. She hadn't forgotten how moody and annoying Tom could be, and was very happy that she'd picked Malfoy, who was always pleased with her.

_Malfoy is a git. _Her inner voice told her, _You know he's only good to you because he's had a lifelong crush on you._

Emma rolled her eyes at the thought, looking around the small bathroom. It had about three stalls and two sinks, with mirrors behind them. It was a very cramped space—it felt as though they'd tried to shove a mini bathroom into a closet. Her eyes scanned the walls, looking for signs of a door or window to another room, but apart from a window that led outside and a door that led to the hallway, the rest of the wall was covered by the toilets and sinks.

She frowned and walked back outside to see Tom talking to someone.

"Oh there she is. Finally finished in the bathroom?" Riddle turned around and Emma almost cringed to see that he was talking to Albus Dumbledore.

"Yes, sorry to hold up our rounds, Riddle." Emma said, instantly playing along, "Something I ate at dinner must have not agreed with me."

Dumbledore raised an eyebrow. "Perhaps you should go back to the Slytherin Common Room... if Mr. Riddle will not object to doing rounds alone... but in the circumstances."

"Yes, of course Sir." Tom cut in, "Ashwood, go back to the Common Room, and get some rest."

Emma nodded, and turned on her heel, but Dumbledore called her attention. "Yes, Sir?"

"Remember our last discussion."

Emma nodded, and didn't dare look at Tom before she turned around and walked back down to the dungeons. Abraxas was still in the Common Room when she got back in. Hoping he wouldn't see her, she walked quickly up the stairway to the girls dormitories and lay down on her bed.

"Emma?"

She propped herself on her side to see the girl who spoke her name. "Yes, Gertrude?"

"We haven't spoken much since the year started." The black haired girl pouted a bit, "How are you?"

"I'm lovely, Trudy." Emma replied, using the nickname she'd made up back in First Year. She really hated the name Gertrude. "How are you?"

"Still desperately trying to attract the attention of your best friend."

And this is why Emma barely spoke to Gertrude since third year. She was _always_ trying to get to Tom.

"Thomas is being very, _difficult_ right now." Emma said with a small smile, resisting the urge to say, '_Tom will _never_ want you so get over him!'_

"Oh, I understand." Gertrude gave Emma a small smile. Having lived with her for the past four years, she knew _exactly_ how much her roommate's moods changed. Although sometimes she'd wondered if Emma controlled them perfectly.

Emma looked down at her watch. She'd wasted ten minutes up here so far. "Well, Trudy, I think I'll make my way down to the Common Room to work on some sort of homework. Perhaps my boyfriend will still be down there."

"Oh! Who are you dating now?"

"Abraxas Malfoy." Emma said, biting her lip as she looked for the other girl's reaction.

"Finally!" Gertrude cried happily—she was Brax's cousin. "He's only been talking about you for _ages_!"

"So I've been told." Emma said unenthusiastically. "I'd better get down there before Catherine and Martha return."

"Good idea." Gertrude agreed, "Cathy still hates you."

"Right." _Tell me something I don't know._

Emma hurried down the staircase back to the Common Room, and began to make her way towards her platinum blond boyfriend when a hand grabbed hold of her own and pulled her back into the shadows.

"I found it."

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Sorry about the long wait! I've been having some serious writer's block, and this chapter was a filler. Next chapter will be a bit of a time skip, and then even _more_ to the action, since this story will incorporate much of their sixth and seventh years... Anyways, hopefully this was sufficient, I'm currently also working on a Draco Malfoy story and ... some original pieces ;) But let me know what you think! **


	10. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer: I do not own any Harry Potter characters!**

**Chapter Ten**: Continuation.

She stared at him with a look that mixed awe and anger. "You _found_ it? Seriously?"

"Yes." Tom grinned, but his triumphant look slid off his face a bit as he saw her smile turn into a frown. He knew what Emma would say next.

"You went looking without me?"

"It's imperative that we complete this mission." He hissed, "I'm sorry I _went without you_, but you need to understand that it will take more time than this to figure out how to _control_ the monster."

"Can we go down there?" Emma disregarded his entire statement.

He stared at her. "What?"

"Can. We. Go. Down. There?"

"Emma... that is _so_ incredibly dangerous. I haven't even been yet; I can't, in good conscience, take you down there with me!"

"You do have to, Tom. Because we're in this _together_."

That's what Tom didn't like. Although Emma constantly reminded him that he was her best friend and that the deviance they created was _together_ and that they were a team... he didn't like that! It was nice to have her. She was great company, she was smart and funny and pretty, and she was the best of the best for helping him to learn Dark Spells, but they couldn't be a _team_.

Tom Riddle worked with _no one._

"I know what you're going to say." Emma interrupted his thoughts, "We aren't a team. You don't work with people. But in this case, who started this... you know—_hate_ thing back in First Year? _Me._ You wouldn't have learned about your heritage at such a young age if I hadn't asked you why you were in Slytherin, and you wouldn't have learned about the old Pureblood prejudice that our beloved Salazar believed in if it weren't for me. At least, not at the age of eleven. Who knows? You might just be figuring it out now, or maybe even later on in life! Tom, I'm not asking you to involve me in _everything_ in your life. I sure as hell am not interested in some of your finer plans. But _this?_ This, I am interested in, and I refuse to let you leave me out of it."

He glared at her. She had a point but _he_ was the heir of Slytherin. This was _his_ battle. Emma took a step closer to Tom, and he didn't back down. He wouldn't show her his weakness.

Out of the corner of her eyes, the blonde girl looked around the room to make sure there was _nobody_ watching. She was lucky. Abraxas had slipped out the door a few minutes earlier, and everyone else was paying attention to their homework or their friends. She took a step closer to Tom, so that they were only separated by a few inches. He didn't back off. She smirked.

"Nervous?" She breathed, taking another step towards him, so that they were separated merely by inches. He looked into her eyes, and his breath hitched.

"No."

She moved her head in closer to his face, so their noses were almost touching. "Nervous?" She asked again, her breath lightly hitting his face. He tried not to breathe in, not because her breath smelled bad or anything, but because he knew if he did, he'd probably kiss her. He had to hold his breath so that he wouldn't do something stupid. Or... that's how he rationalized it in his head.

Instead of vocally saying it, he shook his head "no."

She moved closer, so her body pressed his up against the wall. He breathed in again, trying not to focus on her body, warmly pressed right up against his. He tried to resist the urge to wrap his arms around her body and pull her lips up to his. He had to resist _giving in._

"Are you nervous." She looked up into his eyes—their lips were barely touching, and it wasn't a question anymore... kind of. She could see the conflict in his eyes, and instead of responding, he reacted in a way she _wasn't_ expecting.

When Emma decided to test Tom, she knew he'd either back down or give in..._or _get mad at her and tell her to stop fooling around.

She didn't expect him to wrap his arms around her and pull her closer, if that was even possible, and pull her up so they were eye level. Actually, she didn't think that he even had _that _kind of strength. He tilted his head and brought his lips to meet her own.

Emma could feel Tom's heart—and she was afraid it would beat right out of his chest. It was as though he was so sure of his decision to kiss her, and then there was hesitance... and she felt it too. She was kissing her best friend. She took a few more seconds to savour their once in a lifetime kiss, and before she could pull away, Tom seemed to get more comfortable. He brought her in even _closer_, as if gripping onto her for dear life, and parted his mouth.

Tom couldn't believe it. He was _kissing_ Emma. Her tongue was in his mouth. It was such a foreign concept, but he liked being able to have her so close to him. He kissed her even harder, pouring all of his emotions into it. The feeling of her lips moving against his drove him _insane_.

And too soon, she broke away from him, taking a deep breath. "Wow."

"Wow." He agreed, honestly at a loss for words.

"Wow, Tom Riddle has nothing to say." Emma noticed as well, "That's a first."

"Oh shut up." Tom growled, and he pulled her into another kiss.

Eventually, Emma pulled away again, and Tom grinned at her. "I still won't take you down with me." He winked, and walked back up to his dormitory, leaving Emma stunned.

Weeks passed, and soon Christmas was upon Hogwarts. In the weeks following their little incident in the Common Room, neither Tom nor Emma had put much thought into the Chamber of Secrets, knowing that they'd have to wait until after Christmas anyways, and Emma never brought the subject of her coming along up again.

At the same time, they hadn't kissed again since that fateful night, although they became much closer _physically_. He'd hold her hand under the table, or she'd touch his face and hair more often than before. Other than that, their friendship was nothing more than _normal_.

"Are you staying at school again this year?" Emma asked a week before the break started. They were sitting in the Room of Requirement, waiting to start their Prefect duties.

"Yeah." Tom said quietly, "I guess so."

"My mum wrote to me last week and asked if you wanted to come along for the holidays this year."

Tom looked at her, reading her facial expression carefully. He wondered if she'd want him there.

"And?"

"It's your sixteenth birthday, which is kind of special. To me, at least. And you shouldn't really be alone on Christmas and..."

She left off when Tom put a finger over her lips.

"I'll come home with you." He said slowly, standing up. "But let's go do our rounds now."

* * *

><p><strong>AN: This is short but vital. Sorry it's so short! The next one should be longer, I just didn't want to open a whole new can of worms by continuing. I hope this wasn't anticlimatic or anything ;) Stay in tune for the next chapter sometime this week, and most importantly: THANK YOU FOR ALL THE POSITIVE FEEDBACK. I don't beg for it, but I appreciate it for sure!**


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter Eleven**

A day had passed since their conversation, and suddenly Emma was having second thoughts. She didn't want Tom to come home with her; she didn't want things to be weird between them. Sure, he was handsome and would make an excellent distraction, but she didn't want things to change.

She was lying on her bed in the dormitory when all of a sudden, an owl flew through the open window.

She reached up and grabbed the letter that was tied to it's feet.

_Emma_, it read, _By the time you read this, daddy and I will have fled the country. I couldn't leave without saying goodbye. I don't know how long we're going to survive, but Em, you can't let _anyone_ know that we've left. You have the entire manor. You have everything. You'll figure it out, eventually. I love you, sweetheart. I hope we'll be able to see you soon. Mum. _

"No." Emma whispered as tears started to pour down her eyes. "No."

She grabbed a quill and a piece of homework—the closest thing to her—and wrote on the back.

_Mum, no...please don't leave without me. I want to come with you! I love you so much. Please wait for me. I'll come home as soon as I can. Please! I love you. _

She sent the owl back and burst into tears, lying down on her bed. She cried into the pillow, and she couldn't stop. It wasn't until the door opened that she stopped sobbing and lay still, her face against the pillow. She couldn't breathe. Everything in her chest hurt. Everything in her entire body hurt. She felt like she was going to be sick.

"Emma?" A female voice whispered. The blonde girl wasn't positive, but she assumed that it was Catherine or Gertrude. The voice was kind, so she assumed the latter. "Are you okay?"

She nodded her head, refusing to speak a word. She couldn't let Tom find out about this; he'd question it to no end. Knowing Tom, even though she was probably the only person who was really 'close' to him, he'd use her family to his advantage. Emma wasn't stupid enough to not realize that the Ashwood clan had some very dark secrets. _I wish I had a brother to carry on the family name_. She thought. Then she started tearing up again. Her parents were _gone_. She hoped that they'd gotten her owl. She waited until her roommate left again, and when the footsteps went down the hall, she sat up, wiping her eyes.

Taking a deep breath, she looked at her watch. Eleven twenty seven. She was due to meet Tom in three minutes, but she supposed being early wouldn't do much to hurt her. Although she wouldn't tell Tom about her parents, seeing him would be a bit comforting. She supposed that he would be calm and cool. She stood up and looked in the mirror, and went to take a step towards the vanity before she stumbled and fell back onto the bed, bursting into tears again.

She looked at her watch again. Eleven thirty. Wiping her eyes, she knew she had to get downstairs before Tom came up and found her looking like a mess. She grabbed the brush and ran it through her hair quickly, before wiping her eyes again and going downstairs. She was secretly happy that she didn't wear a whole lot of makeup, like some of the other girls. Her face would be black streaks by now.

She got down to the Common Room and saw him sitting on his favourite couch—the farthest away from the rest of society. She walked over and plopped down next to him, letting herself fall against the back of the comfy furniture. She closed her eyes, relaxing her body for the first time in about half an hour, and when she opened them, she saw Tom staring at her.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing." She replied quickly, "I'm just stressed out."

"What's up?"

"My mum owled me." Emma replied truthfully, "She told me that I can't come home for Christmas because she and dad are going somewhere on vacation. Not sure where though." Tom stared at her for a moment longer.

"That's too bad." He said, "I was looking forward to it, a bit. I know you wanted to go home badly though."

"I did." Emma admitted. Now she never wanted to go back, "But oh well!" She smiled, an idea brightening her up a bit, "We'll be able to spend Christmas together here!"

Tom bit his lip, smiling slightly at her attempted enthusiasm. He slid closer to her, putting his arm around her waist.

"Tom, what are you doing?"

"Why are you lying to me?" He asked softly, caressing her cheek softly, "I can tell when anyone is lying, Emma."

She pushed him away. "I'm not lying to you, you prick." She replied, annoyed, "And you should know that I won't fall for that stupid trick."

He was quiet for a few minutes, but decided that tonight was not the night to push her. She seemed on edge about something. "Sorry." He said dully. Emma barely heard him. She watched the entrance where Abraxas was walking in with Lestrange and Avery.

She got up and walked over to Abraxas, "Hey Brax." She said, kissing him fully on the lips. "I've missed you." She added as an undertone, smiling up at him. Avery looked nauseous while Lestrange looked amused. And Abraxas was surprised. For the past couple weeks, she'd seemed a bit distant. He was terrified that she would break up with him.

"I've missed you too." He said, "And hey, my parents were wondering if your family is coming over for Christmas Eve?"

"Emma's parents," a smooth voice said from right next to Emma's ear, "Will be otherwise occupied this break." Emma and Abraxas both turned to Tom. "So, she'll be staying here this year."

"You are welcome to come stay with me, Em." Abraxas offered. Tom looked furious, but he hid it quickly as he looked at Emma for her response.

"Maybe, I'll absolutely think about it." She said sweetly, kissing Abraxas on the cheek. Tom turned around and furiously stomped out of the Common Room. Emma raised an eyebrow. She wasn't used to that kind of anger or outburst on his part. Nevertheless, there was no way she was going to follow him out today and have to deal with all his angst or whatever.

"I'm going to go to bed, sweetheart." She looked up at Abraxas, who frowned.

"I was hoping I'd have you for a little longer, tonight." He said suggestively, pushing his arm up under her shirt a bit, pulling it up slightly. She responded by kissing him for a quick moment and then pulling away.

"Maybe later." She winked, and kissed him again, "Goodnight."

"Night." He mumbled, watching her walk away. Geez, Emma really did swagger...

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Oh my gosh. I'm so sorry it's been so long! I feel awful. I've rewritten this part of the story about ten times, and this is the best way so far. It's not even done, but once I hit about three pages I wanted to post something because it's been almost three months. I've been so busy with school and life, but yet people are still reviewing and alerting which I appreciate. Thank you to all my reviewers! And everything with Emma's parents is happening for a reason, it's not just a little plot filler, I promise! Til next time! (Which will be soon maybe) **


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter Twelve

The next morning Emma woke up to Catherine, a rather large, annoying one of her roommates, shaking her awake.

"What do _you _want?" Emma grumbled, wiping the sleepiness out of her eyes. She dreamt of her mother, and all she wanted to do was go back to sleep so she could continue the happiness.

"Professor Slughorn told me to wake you up." Cathy retorted, sneering, "A student was attacked last night, and all the Prefects are having a meeting."

"What?" Emma sat up, dazed and confused. Cathy rolled her eyes.

"Just go downstairs."

Emma made a disgruntled noise and got out of bed, pulling her long, frazzled hair into a ponytail and slipping on a pair of slippers. (She hated slippers, but it was too late to put on shoes.) She went down to the Common Room to see Professor Slughorn looking rather panicked, and Tom Riddle, looking rather calm. He didn't greet her when she came in the room, and it took Emma a minute to remember that he'd been upset with her.

"Professor!" She addressed the stricken man, "What's going on?"

"A student was found attacked in the halls—dead!" Slughorn replied. It took everything in her power not to look over at Tom, who was watching the older man with an expressionless look on his face.

"Oh no!" She said, "What happened?"

"No idea." Slughorn whispered dramatically. "Professor Dippet wants to meet with the three of us in the Great Hall."

Tom's head snapped up. "Why just us three?" He asked, frowning. Slughorn looked around, checking to make sure they weren't being overheard.

"He thinks that you two will be able to handle it better." Slughorn said, "Being... Slytherins, and all."

"Well that's not a generalization at all, is it." Emma muttered, Tom shot her a look but she ignored him completely, gesturing for Slughorn to lead them up to the Great Hall. It was still so early (Emma reflected annoyed,) that it was dark outside, and there weren't many students out of bed. There were none in the Great Hall whatsoever; the only people who stood at the centre of the room were Professor Dippet and Professor Dumbledore.

"Ahh, thank you, Horace for bringing our Slytherin Prefects to see us." Armando Dippet smiled at his Potions professor before turning his attention to Tom and Emma.

"A student was attacked tonight, and it has yet to be known if they are still alive or if they are dead. Hopefully, their status will be determined shortly. Until such time as we can figure out what happened, the entire school must be on guard, but we want you two to be especially on the lookout."

"With all due respect," Emma began, and she sensed a Tom eye roll coming anytime, "Why just us? What about the other Prefects and the Head Boy and Girl?"

Professor Dumbledore stepped in, much to Emma's annoyance. "Emma, you and Mr. Riddle are the only two Prefects in this entire school that we are capable of believing could figure this mess out, or at least keep a close enough watch out for anything suspicious looking." His words were completely insincere, but obviously that's what he was told by his boss to say.

"And, I'm assuming that you think the attacker is in Slytherin."

"It is possible," Dumbledore said, "The alternative is too upsetting to even consider." The unspoken alternative was the idea that Grindewald had somehow managed to penetrate the castle, as he was at large and gaining more followers.

Emma rolled her eyes. She didn't care about the stupid alternatives. Right now all she wanted was a moment alone with her Prefect counterpart so she could scream at him.

"We promise, sir," She said addressing Dippet, "Tom and I will keep our eyes open." She said, "Now if you don't mind, it's a Saturday and I'd like to go back to bed." All three of the teachers stared at her as she grabbed Tom by the wrist and dragged him off before he could say anything, or they could add anything else.

She knew that it would add suspicion on Dumbledore's part, but she really didn't care. She was focussed on the dark haired boy who looked absolutely furious with her.

He shook his arm away from her almost immediately after they left the Great Hall, but followed her nonetheless. She led him down into the dungeons and stopped when she realized the coast was clear. Emma glared at him and shoved him into the nearest wall, using a great strength that shocked him.

"What did you do?" She hissed glowering up at him. Tom was about to reply, but his breath hitched a little bit. The fifteen year old boy in him was screaming how hot this entire scenario was. In one swift movement, he was pinning Emma to the wall, and she looked positively livid.

"You, have absolutely no business in what I'm doing." Tom said, "You need to understand this right now." He saw a flash of hurt go through his eyes, and a mixture of satisfaction and remorse ran through him. "But if you must know, Emma, I'm beginning my job as the Heir of Slytherin and getting rid of all the filth in the school."

And then, for good measure, he leaned down and kissed her—hard. It was unnerving to him, how comfortable he had become with just _kissing_ her, like it was nothing. _But it's not nothing_. He thought, angry with himself. He lost his train of thought when he realized that his body was pushed right up against Emma's, against the wall. And like with their entire friendship, they were battling for dominance.

"Tom." Emma said calmly, ending it like _that_. It was like landing very abruptly on concrete, "What are we doing?"

He stared at her for a couple seconds before kissing her _again_. This time, Emma didn't even question it; she let her obvious attraction for him take over. She put her hands behind his head and pulled his face even closer to hers, threading her fingers in his hair. With one hand massaging his scalp, the other started to play with the waistline of his pants, pulling it away so she'd be able to slide her hand through if she wanted. This barely phased Tom, whose hand was halfway up her shirt already. It was Emma who stopped again.

"Tom." She said, pulling away from him, trying to catch her breath, "We are in the corridor, and breakfast usually begins in..." She looked at her watch, "Ten minutes."

He nodded, some common sense finally finding its way into his brain. "Okay." He agreed, taking a deep breath. He wanted to continue, but was aware of the fact that being caught would completely ruin both of their public images.

Emma stepped out of the shadows, fixing her hair and clothing just to be sure, and walked about twenty feet over to the Common Room. She gave the password (Pureblood) and walked in, and straight up the stairs to the boy's dormitory. Tom followed her, making sure that no one saw them going up.

She sat down on the bed, swishing her wand so that the curtains hid her from sight of the other boys. Tom sat down next to her. "What happened last night?" Emma asked, "What did you do?"

Tom licked his lips. "I was really angry, and I went down to the Chamber and tested out the monster." He murmured. "It's going to listen beautifully to us." He said, "It's the most beautiful creature I've ever seen. She worships the ground I walk on. Looks like I really am the heir of Slytherin." Tom murmured excitedly. Emma couldn't help but smile at his enthusiasm as she put her hand on his own.

"As if you doubted it."

"What do you say we begin to make the Mudbloods wish they had never stepped foot into this school?" Tom asked, a malicious glint in his eyes. Emma smiled, delighted.

"I would enjoy this very much." She replied. She looked down for a second. "Tom, I hate to make things awkward but—I"

Tom cut her off, holding his hand out. "Let's not make things awkward then." He said, "Forget it ever happened."

"I can't do that." She said, "I just can't pretend like none of this happened."

Tom got up really close to her. "Why not?"

"I don't _know_." Emma muttered, obviously frustrated. She was going _crazy_. She looked up at Tom, and saw a boy who was just as confused as she was. Sometimes she found herself forgetting that she was, indeed, only fifteen. And then she thought about her mother.

_How can I be worried about kissing _Tom _when my parents could be dead?_ She wondered, letting out a sigh. She looked back up and bit her lip.

"I don't regret it." She muttered quietly, "Do you?"

She didn't want to look at Tom's response. He seemed to sense this, and bent down so she had no choice but to look at him. "I don't regret it, Emma." He replied firmly, "I think that what we both need is a bit of a release."

Emma stared at him blankly. Was he suggesting what she thought he was suggesting? She didn't dare ask him, from fear of flaring his rather flammable temper.

"Well," She said, choosing her words carefully, "I'm glad you feel that way." She smiled slightly, feeling more than incredibly awkward. "I am going to go get some breakfast though. I'll see you later?"

"Yeah." Tom muttered, "We have rounds tonight, don't forget."

"How could I?"

They stood in awkward silence for a few more seconds before Tom said (very uncharacteristically), "So do I get a goodbye kiss?"

Emma's head snapped back up and she was about to answer sarcastically, but Tom was grinning slyly at her. _Oh... it was a joke._ She decided to humour him anyways (and because she highly enjoyed kissing him) and stood up a bit taller on her toes, pressing her lips gently against his. She pulled back equally as quickly, realizing that the middle of the boy's dormitory wasn't nearly as private as the shadowy areas in the dungeon. "Goodbye, _Thomas_." She said in a low voice, "See you in potions."

With that, she sauntered out of the room, swaying her hips as she walked. Tom couldn't help be feel that if this was the tactic she used _every time_ they tried to manipulate somebody, then there were a lot of heartbroken guys on account of Emma Ashwood in the school.

******A/N: Sorry for the short wait. I'm working on this whenever I get a bit inspired so it doesn't seem as though I'm hammering through the story. I appreciate all the wonderful feedback! I feel as though the story is really starting to pick up now, with a bit of Tom/Emma romance sparked. I'm kind of writing all of my HP fan fics and ideas in the same universe... keep them linked together. So I mean, if you absolutely love this story... when it's over, just remember that it won't be the last time you'll be hearing of Emma Ashwood. I already have a few more stories in the works, or ideas at least. **

**But anyways, thanks so much for reading! Have a nice night**


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**

Tom had no word from Emma for the rest of the weekend, which was highly annoying, as he saw her sitting with Malfoy and Lestrange getting all cozy between the two.

"Stupid girl." He muttered one night when he saw her lying across Malfoy's lap, him stroking her hair softly. The more he let these thoughts enter his conscious mind, the more he couldn't wait to figure out how to split his soul. How to ultimately forget about all of his feelings. After that, he and Emma could just work together and there would be kissing, but for pleasure – not feelings. He'd thought it out quite a bit.

On Monday morning right after breakfast and as promised, Emma slid next to him in potions. "Morning, Riddle." She said as a Ravenclaw girl sat right behind them. "I hope you had a pleasant weekend?"

"Oh it was brilliant." He said, "Got lots of work done."

That was a lie, unless staring at Emma and cursing teenaged hormones counted as "work."

"Did you now?"

"Oh yeah, tons." He said, pulling out his notebook and slamming it down next to the cauldron on the counter. She looked over his shoulder. Tons of tiny, cramped writing and diagrams. "Here… read it and then we can meet up later to discuss it."

She nodded as Slughorn walked into the room, casting a weary glance at the pair of them, and sat down behind his desk. Emma couldn't help but glare at him, and, clearly uneasy, he stared at his watch until precisely 8:30 when he could begin his lecture.

"Today we are going to be talking about antidotes to common poisons, which will surely be on your OWLs at the end of the year…"

Emma snapped back into reality. She had _totally_ forgot about the OWLs for maybe a month. Putting everything into perspective; school, OWLs, prefect duties, Tom, mudblood killing, her parents, Tom, Malfoy and Tom, she felt as though the rest of the year – which wasn't even half done, was going to be a killer.

The rest of the week went by in a haze. Tom, furious at Emma for having ignored him the past weekend, barely said a word when they met, forcing her to read his written notes and decipher them for herself.

On Friday night during a particularly intense round of Prefect duties, in which Emma was almost in tears from Tom's constant snapping and snarling, she confronted him.

"What in Merlin's name is your problem?" She asked, as she had just had to practically run up nine flights of stairs to keep up with him. He was leaning against the wall looking particularly venomous.

"You're a dumb bitch, that's what my problem is." He spat, but she barely recoiled. Emma walked over and stood next to him, slowly putting a hand on his shoulder.

"Tom."

He looked over at her, and she gave him a small smile. "Come on. You've been acting weird all week."

"Well it might be because you're driving me crazy."

She stared at him for a long moment. "How am I driving you crazy?"

"I don't want to talk about it."

She felt a wave of hurt flow through her. "Seriously?"

"It's nothing." He said again, "None of your business."

"Whatever." She muttered, "I'm sorry I ignored you last weekend?" She thought about it for a second, "That's the only thing that comes to mind."

"I just think that maybe you are letting your feelings get in the way of our responsibilities."

"What feelings?" Emma was genuinely confused, "What are you talking about?"

"Your relationship with Malfoy."

"Tom, can you please stop being jealous?"

_"__I'm not jealous_." He snapped, "Quite frankly, Emma, I couldn't care less who you spend your time with. I just don't want it ruining your focus on our mission."

_Ouch_. In that instant, she wondered when she'd changed. When she'd become so submissive to him – when once upon a time, she'd been ruthless. She wondered when she'd stopped, and in the same moment, vowed to be the version of herself that she liked the most.

"And it won't." She said slowly, "I'm going to break up with Malfoy tomorrow."

Tom raised an eyebrow. "Really?"

"Yeah. I agree with you. My mind is always conflicted about my personal life, and I think it's time to get rid of those complications so that I can focus on what we _need_ to do."

"Good." Tom said, "So since you won't be staying at his place during the holiday, I suppose we can make headway on this plan."

Emma nodded in agreement. "Yes, I suppose we can."

Abraxas did not take well to Emma breaking up with him, but he didn't question it either, which led Emma to believe that Tom had spoken with him prior.

On the second day of holidays, after everybody was home and there were very few people left (Emma, Tom, Myrtle – much to Emma's displeasure – and some Hagrid kid in second year that neither of them really knew) Tom decided to show Emma the Chamber.

"Really?" She'd asked, and he just smirked, taking her hand and leading her up the stairs to the Entrance Hall.

"Really."

He led her up to the second floor, down the corridor, and into the bathroom. "So what did I miss last time I was in here?" Emma asked, looking around. It was as small as she'd remembered. Tom closed the door to the bathroom behind them, locking it with a spell that Emma knew he'd changed a bit to be more powerful, and only undone by himself.

"This." He pointed to a sink with an engraving of a snake on the side of the faucet. "Stand back."

She took a step backwards as he started speaking in another language and all of a sudden, the sink began to move, creating an opening in the middle. When everything stopped moving, Emma looked up at Tom, a gleeful expression on her face.

"Now what?" She whispered, staring down into the gaping hole that sat in front of her. He smirked, taking her hand – and together they jumped in.

* * *

><p><strong>Authors Note: <strong>

**So, it's been a long time and I am truly sorry! Over the past couple years (wow I'd hate me if I was reading this) I've had overwhelming support and gained quite the following on this story. If you're still following me, thank you so much. I've gotten lots of reviews telling me to get myself in gear and continue writing. So I apologize for the short update, part of the reason it's taken so long is because I wanted to write something _good_... but I haven't been able to produce anything I'm proud of and for that I'm sorry. So the next chapter is going to be updated much quicker. I've had writers block for SO long but when I started writing I had a clear path and direction for my story, as well as a map for the universe that it is a part of. I am kind of a perfectionist - I want to keep people in character while remembering the time period (the 1940's) and also keeping the story consistent as I go along. I've erased and rewritten this chapter MANY times and changed the course of the centre of the story so much over the past little while. Anyways again, I apologize for the short length and long wait for this chapter and thanks for holding in if you have. **

**- marinapanic **


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